Ditch fires a problem in dry, windy weather fire departments say

    The Wellman Fire Department extinguished a string of ditch fires along Highway 22 Monday afternoon. Assistant Fire Chief Jared Kinsinger said that there were three separate fires west of Wellman between Dogwood Avenue and the county line. He said the fires were probably not started purposefully. An eyewitness reported that a car dragging a trailer was shooting sparks from one of its wheels, and that this may have caused the fires on the south side of the road.

    Kinsinger said that the fires never got very large, although the smoke from the flames did affect visibility on the highway. He said the fires were kept small because it was not very windy Monday. The fire department was able to extinguish each fire within five minutes.

    Farmers routinely burn their fields and ditches in the spring before the planting season. Kinsinger said that most of the ditch fires his department responds to begin as controlled burns but later get out of control.

    ?It?s important to have enough people on hand when you start a ditch fire,? he said. ?It also helps if you make the authorities aware of when and where you will be burning.?

    Kinsinger also remarked that farmers should pay attention to the strength of the wind, and refrain from burning their ditches on windy days when the fire is liable to spread uncontrollably.

    Washington firefighter Bill Wagner said that the force of the wind is not the only thing that determines how quickly a ditch fire can spread.

    ?Along the highway, vehicles blow air on the fire just by driving by,? he said. ?The fire can even create its own wind. The larger it gets, the more oxygen it sucks in, and the more air moves toward it. That?s why tall prairie grass fires can spread so quickly.?

    Wagner said that the fire department intentionally burns the six-foot high prairie grass at Marr Park about every other year. The Marr Park burn is such a large undertaking that the Ainsworth and Crawfordsville fire departments are on the scene to ensure the fire is kept under control. Wagner said the team of fire departments burns the prairie at night because the wind dies down and more firefighters are able to participate.

For the full story, see the March 30 edition of The Washington Evening Journal