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JAMESTOWN – With warm summer months upon us, many risks come with the dry toasty weather, including brush and wildfires.
“When we get to this time of year, and it’s quite obvious that our vegetation is now drying out, since we’ve had this period of aridness,“ explained Chief Coon. “Just be very mindful of discarding anything that would be a possible heat source, discarded cigarettes, anything that would possibly be hot from doing construction work, or welding, or sparks. Anything of that nature is a potential hazard to ignite vegetation that’s lying along the ground, and with it being so dry it’s certainly plausible that any fuel laying around like that would ignite very quickly and could quickly spread out of control.”
Jamestown Fire Chief Mathew Coon says open burning is illegal in the City of Jamestown, but when outside the city, to be mindful of the threat fire poses.
“This time of year it’s not uncommon for folks to want to camp outside, have fires outside,“ says Chief Coon. “So the best advice I can offer is anybody that is going to engage in any behavior like that outside of town, certainly don’t go to bed and leave a fire unattended, don’t leave it, if you have to leave please make sure it’s fully extinguished.”
Fire isn’t the only risk that comes with warmer weather, the likelihood of dehydration also drastically increases in the summer months.
“This time of year, it’s very hot outside as everybody knows, please make sure that you’re being mindful of keeping yourself hydrated, practice good work practices when you’re outside,“ explained Chief Coon. “Make sure that you’re staying hydrated, check on your neighbors, certainly check on pets that are left outside, food and water is very important.”
In the end, Chief Coon urges the public to call emergency services whenever a fire is spotted, no matter how small.
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