With the heat reaching triple digits, Winona Fire Chief Brad Mooneyham and Carroll County Fire Coordinator Jake Hurst want people to be cautious while enjoying the fourth with their family and friends.
Mooneyham said they hadn’t received a lot of calls for grass fires, but Hurst said they’ve had five or six calls for grass fires.
“It’s either because someone started it or a transformer blew that got out of hand, but we haven’t had any big calls at all,” Hurst said.
Meteorologists are forecasting isolated showers for several days this week and both said Carroll and Montgomery Counties could use those showers.
“A shower would sure help,” Mooneyham said.
“It helps to put moisture back in the ground so a shower would be very nice,” Hurst said. Neither said they’ve received any heat related calls. Both said their main concern this weekend are fireworks.
“It’s a concern of ours. I’ve already spoken to some of the fire chiefs about it. We’re ready to go,” Hurst said.
“We want people to be extremely careful this weekend when shooting fireworks,” Mooneyham said.
Hurst said because it’s so dry, an ember from a firework could cause a fire to happen. Hurst gave some tips that should be followed while celebrating this weekend.
“Have a bucket of water or the water hose nearby when shooting fireworks, just in case it gets out of hand. We want to encourage that. Never ignite in a container, don’t ignite near people, houses or any flammable material and never, ever use fireworks while impaired,” he said. “Never ignite them in a dry field. Those are the tips that we like to give.”
And the biggest tip: “Be safe and have fun,” Mooneyham said.
