We are now in a timeframe where several controlled burning of farm fields are going to start taking place.

Jefferson Fire Chief Jack Williams says with a lot of rural areas going to do controlled burns, they need to keep in mind one element that can make a situation get out of control very quickly.

“The wind is probably the biggest thing that you have to watch for. Calm days are the best, obviously, but we don’t get very many of those in Iowa. So you just want to make sure that the wind is in a safe direction, and then you want to burn against the wind, not with the wind because once grass gets going, especially switchgrass, it creates its own wind, and going with the wind it just goes that much faster.”

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has also announced that prescribed burning will be taking place from mid-March to mid-May on wildlife management areas of the DNR, which in Greene County includes the North Raccoon River, Finn Pond and Dunbar Slough. According to the DNR, this is done to improve the overall wildlife habitat, controlling invasive plant species, along with maintaining and restoring native plant life. 

Williams adds that for farmland owners who are going to do controlled burns to notify the law enforcement center at their non-emergency number, along with the date and approximate time of when that will take place. He says it will help out if fire departments need to be deployed if a fire gets out of hand. The non-emergency number is 515-386-2136.