Rural Metro Fire Department shares how “Burn Days” work
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Smokey skies throughout Yuma County usually indicate one thing, a controlled burn day.
The Rural Metro Fire Department (RMFD) talked about their purpose and how to do them safely.
On a controlled burn day in Yuma, farmers and residents with a permit can use fire to clear their fields of debris and residue, but only under proper guidelines.
RMFD says that when conducting a controlled burn, safety is the top priority for both the fire crews and the public.
Cori Schultz, the Rural Metro Fire Marshal, says"A site visit needs to be conducted to make sure that you are burning safely… So, you'll want to have piles, small piles, at least 50 feet from any structure and you have to have water on-site."
They share with us that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is who ultimately determines a controlled burn day.
"It goes by the weather and wind speeds. ADEQ gives us smoke ventilation forecasts daily and depending on what the forecast is by ADEQ, we'll make it a burn day or not a burn day," says Schultz.
Rural Metro also considers the effects the burns have on our air quality.
Schultz states "The air quality goes along with prescribing a burn day, so if it's low air quality it won't be a burn day. If the air quality gets bad, even worse, we can call off a burn day, and we'll call the prescribed burners and let them know "Hey, you got to put your fire out."
However, a prescribed burn that does not follow safety protocols could easily get out of hand and lead to serious harm.
"We've had a lot of buns where there burning weeds in place and they get too close to a shed then it spread to the shed or the home then we have a structure fire," says Schultz.
Controlled burns become more critical as fire suppression efforts increase during the summer.
Burn permits are required for all open burning except warming fires, cooking fires, and fires for training firefighters.
The Fire Marshal adds, "If you need help with a permit and you don't know exactly what to do to get your property prepared for the permit we can always come out and assist on the safest way to conduct your burn."
Rural Metro asks that you contact them if you're questioning if it is a controlled burn or not.
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