Dry Conditions Lead to Increase in Brush/Grass Fires in Lafayette County

By Alyssa Schnugg

News editor

alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

With low humidity and no rain for almost two weeks, the Lafayette County Fire Department has responded to four times the number of brush fires so far this month than it did for the entire month of October in 2021.

And it’s only the first week into October.

As of Friday, firefighters with the LCFD have responded to nine brush/grass/woodland fires.

In October 2021, they responded to two brush fires.

During the last week in September, LCFD responded to five brush fires and a total of seven for the entire month. In September 2021, they responded to three brush fires.

“As you can see in the last two weeks our numbers have increased drastically,” said Lafayette County Public Information Officer Beau Moore. “We would ask everyone to please refrain from burning outdoors until we get some much-needed rain.”

The National Weather Service has issued a statement that there will be an elevated fire danger for most of north Mississippi over the next few days.

Several counties in north Mississippi are currently under a burning ban; however, Lafayette County has not yet opted to put one in place.

“We are continuing to monitor the current call volume,” Moore said.

Moore said if residents feel they must burn right now, they should make sure to have a water source nearby and they should not leave the fire unattended.

“The low relative humidity and how dry everything is makes it very easy for a fire to become out of control,” he said. “If you feel your fire is getting out of control, call 911 as soon as possible.”

As of Friday, there is no rain in the forecast until Wednesday night when there is a 30 percent chance of showers.