"Red Flag Warning": How to not start a wildfire

[Mr. Bill]

This is from our local Emergency Management agency, but the advice is good in any dry location (including drought-stricken areas like western Washington State where nobody expects a wildfire).

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning, for Benton County, from noon today until 10 pm this evening for gusty winds and low humidity.

Weather conditions during Red Flag Warnings can create extreme fire behavior, such as rapid spread and intense burning.

Benton County Emergency Management would like to encourage citizens to take appropriate precautions such as:

-Scheduling the mowing of dry grass on an alternate day. Mowers can strike rocks and start grass fires.

-Avoiding travel ways that are overgrown with vegetation. Hot exhaust pipes and mufflers can start fires. Debris can collect under vehicles and ignite fires.

-Refraining from shooting firearms. Not only can bullets spark and start fires, but often they are hot enough when they leave the barrel to start a fire.

-Ensuring trailer chains are secured properly and not dragging and creating sparks.

-Abstaining from outdoor burning.

Red Flag Warning days are occasions to take time to ensure that the area around your home is resistant to fire. Ensure there are no combustibles around the immediate exterior of your house and that dead vegetation has been removed.

Have a plan of action in place, in the event of a fire. Ensure that your family and home are prepared and protected, if the need arises.

Ensure that, if you are a Benton or Franklin County Resident, you are signed up for your county’s CodeRED system. This a primary method of notification during an emergency in our area.

Check your local Emergency Management agency to see if they have a link to CodeRED or another alert system.

[Morning Sunshine]

and don't set off 4th of July fireworks, even if there are no county regs against it.  Common sense, people!

[Mr. Bill]

and don't set off 4th of July fireworks, even if there are no county regs against it.  Common sense, people!

   Don't get me started.  Around here, 10-20% of the population thinks it's their God-given right as Americans to have the fire department rescue the neighborhood from their patriotic pyromania.

[Morning Sunshine]

  Don't get me started.  Around here, 10-20% of the population thinks it's their God-given right as Americans to have the fire department rescue the neighborhood from their patriotic pyromania.

I would say 20% is about right for the houses on my dry mountain road   I have been trying for the past year to find a way to talk to these neighbors of mine without ruining our relationship.


Americans these days are all about RIGHTS.  no one remembers that with rights comes responsibility.

[FreeLancer]

Similar dumbassery around my parts.

[Mintbird]

Similar dumbassery around my parts.

Ditto in the Antelope Valley:(