LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Current weather conditions and prolonged drought have much of Arkansas under an enhanced wildfire risk Wednesday.
At least a dozen Arkansas counties are under a burn ban. Most of them are in South Arkansas, where drought conditions are most severe.
According to State Forester Joe Fox, 28 wildfires were burning in Arkansas Tuesday afternoon. He said the Arkansas Forestry Division has responded to about 25 fires per day over the last week.
With 60 workstations and 110 dozer units across the state, the Forestry Division works with rural volunteer fire departments to contain grass fires.
“We become the incident commander and we can organize all the resources,” he said. “Oftentimes, there’s more than one volunteer fire department, and they’ll protect the structures that are in the way of the fire.”
Fox says most wildfires are accidental, and the Smokey Bear saying still holds true today: "Only you can prevent wildfires."
“My message for everybody, whether you're under a burn ban or not, is ‘be careful,’” he said. “If you're under a burn ban, you're not supposed to light the debris pile you have that you've been waiting on a good day to burn. But with low humidity and winds up it’s just plain too dangerous to burn unless you're a professional.”
This is the best time for professionals to conduct controlled burns in areas without a burn ban, according to Fox.
“We look at the weather conditions. We look at the fuels on the ground, and we prescribe what we want the fire to do,” he said.
Dead leaves and limbs are fuel for fire, so prescribed burns can help prevent out-of-control wildfires.
“Hazardous fuel reduction, wildlife habitat, ecological value, all are good things from controlled burning,” Fox said.
Click here to view which counties are under a burn ban, scheduled prescribed burns, and wildfire danger updates.