One of the most popular things to do in the summer is to have a campfire and to enjoy it by yourself or with others. However, these recreational fires can be dangerous if they are not well-maintained.

Mix in the drought that the Marshalltown area is experiencing and these recreational fires have a higher likelihood of getting out of hand if proper caution is not taken. With the dry weather lately, vegetation has become a bit dried out and become a bit tender.

“So when talking about recreational fires, of course you have some embers that kind of come off on those things and it just takes a little bit of that to land on some of this dry vegetation and can basically take off,” Marshalltown Fire Marshal Josh Warnell said. “That’s actually how some grass fires start.”

Warnell said some areas of town are in more danger than others because of downed trees from the derecho last August.

“Very heavy timberlands that are kind of around the city are very high risk right now, because of all the downed trees from the storm we had and they’re still not cleaned up,” he said. “Along the river, those are all pockets here in town with the heavy-wooded areas, there’s a lot of downed trees in there that have been sitting in there for quite a while.”

Questions about recreational fires have been asked of Warnell, especially with the dry spell.

“When we’re talking about recreational fires, that was a question we just had here recently from one of the citizens here at town, is recreational fires can be bad all year long, but you have to burn seasonal wood of course and those things have to be the proper containers for them,” he said. “Then the homeowners actually have to have some means of putting that cover and usually it’s up mesh grade over the fire pit and that kind of stops those embers from flying up and getting into that vegetation.”

According to Warnell, the citizen brought up the dryness in the areas and the effects it’s having, such as drying up the grass.

“They brought up a good point and with the weather we’ve been having lately it’s just been super dry,” Warnell said. “So the conditions outside are getting to that point where you know a lot of the grass has even turned brown and if you have other kinds of yard debris in there (a fire pit), it’s a very dry situation so it doesn’t take much for something (a fire) to go.”

Wind speed is also something that can play a significant role in potentially starting an unwanted fire. This is especially the case if the fire has not been completely put out.

“So if you do have a recreational fire and a lot of times you know if you go to bed and then the logs are burning out you still have that chance maybe the wind picks up and some of those embers blow out we’re you know they can cause that problem,” he said.

The fire department is still getting what they call, “illegal burn calls,” as well as doing waste removal.

“We still run quite a few of them, as we call them illegal burn calls, following the burning ordinance and towns majo things so we’re doing waste removal.” Warnell said. “Basically it’s yard vegetation and that stuff. No log, diameter wise bigger than two feet, like in diameter. So kind of small logs if you’re trying to clean up your yard, grass clippings, leaves, and stuff like small sticks. Of course those have to be in their proper burning vessels, if you’re using different limitations go on those.”

For residents who want to have a safe and fun summer with evening recreational fires at home, Warnell has some tips and guidelines to follow:

• Douce the fire with water when going to bed

• Place the mesh crate over the fire to help contain embers

• Make sure there is no risk of blowing embers

• Do not allow leaf or grass buildup near the fire

• Keep in mind the placement of the firepit. Keep the fire away from structures and wood yard fences. Pits should be at least a 15-foot clearance.

• Use the season hardwood intended for fires, which is dried out and causes less smoke

“Just be mindful of what you’re doing, but it could happen where you know, you go to bed and wind picks up at night, and now you start a small patch in the backyard on fire, maybe it spreads to a neighbor’s garage and that really affects a lot of other people too, as well,” Warnell said. “They’re okay to have but just make sure that you’re doing the right thing when it comes time to put them out.”

Currently, there is no ban on recreational fires in the county and in the city. This is also the case for local campgrounds that have fire rings.

Campgrounds in Marshall County — Grammar Grove and Timmons Grove — have fire rings supplied for each campsite and fires are required to be burnt in those and nowhere else, said Marshall County Conservation Board Director Mike Stegmann.

According to Stegmann, the campgrounds will allow fires in the fire rings unless there is a burn ban put in place by the state fire marshal.

“We would go by state fire marshal burn bans,” Stegman said. “I know we do that in the spring when we’re doing prescribed burns, prairie management areas when weather conditions are conducive to the fires and of course, we’re not in a burn ban.”

Prairie fires do weigh heavily on Stegmann’s mind.

“Of course we’re extremely dry right now; historically, and I’m going to refer back to not necessarily campfires, but prairie fire management, historically, they could have burned at any time of the year, spring, summer, fall or winter,” he said. “Of course right now as dry as we are, the fields that have last year’s brown duff in them could theoretically still burn.”

Stegmann provided some fire safety tips as well:

• Do not let the fire get big

• Have a fire retardant close by

• Keep a safe distance from the fire

• Have water on hand to put the fire out quickly.

In addition to these safety tips, the Marshalltown Fire Department has a list of tips in the campfire safety section on its Summer Fire Safety page that say to never leave the fire unattended, to keep the campfires small, build them where they won’t and away from dry vegetation and keep a shovel and water around to douse the fire.

Contact Sam Stuve at 641-753-6611 or sstuve@timesrepublican.com.