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Be cautious with ag burning this spring

Un-controlled brush and grass fires have been reported across Missouri this spring.

Missouri Fire Marshal Tim Bean says there have been more than 300 fires across the state in the first few months this year and some have impacted hundreds of acres. That’s why it’s important to make sure conditions are right before burning ground.

“People get deceived following snow events and the ground is wet underneath, but the dead vegetation on top combined with hydrogen is a good combination for burning.”

He says it’s important to stay up to date on the latest conditions.

University of Missouri’s State Climatologist Zach Leasor says underlying drought conditions don’t make the situation better and there is going to be a greater fire risk ahead of this weekend’s severe storm system.

“Friday will be a critical day where we can probably expect some advisories and possibly red flag warnings as we’ll have very strong winds.”

The National Weather Service is not recommending any burning for parts of Missouri and Kansas on Friday, due to wind and low humidity. There’s also a wind advisory and high wind watch in effect for Friday with gusts expected up to 60 miles per hour.

Leasor says it’s unclear how much rain will come with the weekend storm system and another significant rain event isn’t expected in the short-term forecast.