Posted: 4/5/05
Local fire departments respond to grass fires
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Local fire departments responded to several grass fires last weekend.
The Caledonia Fire Department put out a grass fire near Camp Winnebago on Saturday. Eitzen was called in for mutual aid as a precaution, fire chief Chuck Gavin said. They also put out a grass fire on Ridgeview Drive on Sunday. ìHomeowners had them pretty well taken care of by the time we got there,î Gavin said of both fires.
ìItís pretty dry. That wind dried it up so much,î Gavin said. ìIt (fire) can take off pretty easy. Weíll have to be pretty careful for a few weeks.î
Brownsville fought a grass fire in section eight of Brownsville Township on Saturday afternoon. It started from a pile of leaves, which was unattended for about five minutes. It spread to a 10-by-10 shed, which in turn spread by radiant heat to an unoccupied house owned by Jeff and Karen Lampert. Caledonia was called for mutual aid.
The shed was lost. The house had only minimal fire damage to the back porch and kitchen area, but there was a lot of smoke and water damage, Brownsville Fire Chief Gary Meiners said. ìBetween the two departments we probably hauled about 25,000 gallons of water.î
Meiners urged people to be careful until we get some much-needed rain. The Hokah Fire Department fought a grass fire on Sunday.
No restrictions yet
Houston County forester Randy Mell from the Minnesota DNR said on April 4 that it is too early to put burning restrictions into place. He urged people to be careful and burn safely. Donít burn on windy days, or below a hillside, he said.
Fire departments charge the person $200 per hour when called to a grass fire, even if a permit has been obtained, Mell said.
Mell said the normal process for putting in burning restrictions is to have fire chiefs call him and tell him about problems. The first would be a closing of any burning by permits Prescribed burns would still be allowed. The final restriction would be an all-out sheriffís ban on fire.
Rain is forecast for Wednesday of this week, so things could change again, Mell said.
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