With a dry stretch and warmer temperatures returning, Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman is reminding residents to take extra precautions before conducting any open burning.
Hamman said fire season is effectively year-round, and even without an official countywide burn ban in place, conditions can change quickly — especially on windy days. He emphasized that the most important step is simple: call the communications center before you burn.
“That notification helps prevent unnecessary fire responses,” Hamman said, noting that reports of smoke can trigger multiple fire departments to be paged immediately. With many area departments staffed primarily by volunteers, those responses pull people from work, home, family events, and school activities, and also put wear on equipment.
Hamman also urged residents burning brush piles to think beyond the day of the burn. Embers can remain hot and rekindle days or even weeks later, especially when the wind returns and conditions dry out again. Ideally, he said, a brush pile should be covered with soil once burned. At minimum, people should check burn sites repeatedly in the days following a burn.
Hamman also briefly addressed a recent incident at Prairie Rose State Park, saying he was not aware of any identification of the person connected to property found on or under the ice.
Looking ahead, Hammond reminded residents that severe weather season will arrive before long, and he encouraged everyone to stay alert and hope for more moisture.
