By Mondell Keck | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS — Alarm bells are starting to sound in Brookings County over ongoing and intensifying dry conditions, with little hope of significant precipitation in the days ahead.
That concern led to words of caution from Commissioner Kelly VanderWal at the Brookings County Commission’s meeting on Feb. 17.
“I just like to encourage residents to think before they’re doing controlled burns,” he said. “I like to tell residents to continue to call those in. As a volunteer fireman … I get called away from my job to go to a controlled burn (and) that costs time and money. If you’re going to do a controlled burn, make sure you’re watching it, not going away, and make sure that when it’s out, it’s out.”
VanderWal’s words carried more oomph in the wake of a report from Sheriff Marty Stanwick, who noted that there were three small fires recently in the county. One was a controlled burn that got out of control; another occurred at a business where vehicles were being moved at the time; and a third involved a propane tank.
“It is getting dry out there, so maybe it’s something we need to look at,” Stanwick said.
That something might include a burn ban on the commission’s agenda when it next meets on March 3. Between now and then, though, Brookings County and neighboring counties are contending with Mother Nature, who’s been recalcitrant about providing moisture as of late.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of Feb. 17 most of Brookings County was experiencing abnormally dry conditions, 95.14% to be exact. The remainder of the county, 4.86%, was classified as experiencing moderate drought conditions.
Abnormally dry conditions dominate in several other counties as well, including Kingsbury, Lake, Hamlin and Deuel. Things are a touch worse in Moody County, where 48.21% of the county is in moderate drought conditions, and 51.79% is abnormally dry.
“Let’s just be smart about our controlled burns,” VanderWal said. “ … Lake County had an issue (recently), and a lot of time and energy was spent on that.”
He wasn’t kidding, either. Information from Lake County Emergency Management last week indicated first responders had to deal with several fires, including:
- Feb. 11: Six fire departments responded with 18 vehicles and 43 firefighters to battle a blaze that blackened 91 acres.
- Feb. 17: Two fire departments, five vehicles and 20 firefighters responded to a blaze that ultimately burned 14 acres.
- Feb. 17: Two fire departments and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service responded with 10 vehicles and personnel to a fire that burned roughly 50 acres.
The moral of the story, folks? Think twice before setting anything alight for controlled burn purposes.
— Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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