Monitor Agricultural Burns | Big Horn Basin Media

Monitor Spring Burning to Protect Property

Written by on April 23, 2018

A lesson in caution when it comes to spring burning.
A grass fire that got out of control threatened the home of a Fremont county woman, who was alerted to the danger by a passerby who just happens to know a thing or two about spring burning.
As part of his job as public relations specialist for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Cody Beers spreads the message of caution and safety, including the concern that burning of fields and ditches can cause limited visibility and damage to fences, sign posts, guardrails and permitted utilities – as well as personal property.
Beers says as he was driving past a woman’s house between Ethete and Fort Washakie on Thursday, he noticed an unattended grass fire that had spread to an outbuilding beside a house. He turned in the driveway and banged on a door 25 feet away from the burning building.

Beers says that while her house was spared, the incident highlights the fact that if you are going to light something on fire in the spring, you need to monitor the burn.

Citizens conducting a field burn are not only responsible for what happens on their own property, they may also be held criminally and civilly liable from damages to federal and state property.
And Tim Troutman of the National Weather Service Riverton office adds that anyone considering agricultural burns should make sure they have an up-to-date wind speed and direction forecast to help you decide whether or not dropping the match is worth the risk.


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