Yuma, Arizona - This week’s safety message deals with wildfire awareness. With our great winter weather, Yumans may be thinking about more outdoor recreational activity, such as camping. Warm days, but often cold nights will mean camp fires. With low humidity, and occasional periods of gusty winds, fires can spread quickly and be more difficult to stop.
Preventing fires is much easier and safer than putting them out. Here are a few things we would like you to keep in mind:
Use extreme care in the use of all fire, and potentially fire causing activities, whether it be for industrial, home, or recreational use.
Make sure campfires are thoroughly and completely extinguished, and smoking materials (especially when driving!) are properly disposed of.
Use spark arrestors in mechanical equipment such as chain saws and off-road vehicles, and when you pull off a roadway be sure not to park in grassy areas. A hot exhaust system can start vegetation under your vehicle on fire.
Observe “Red Flag” warnings. Those warnings will be issued by the National Weather Service when weather conditions are right for the easy start and rapid spread of wildfires. During such times, citizens should obey all fire restrictions and area closures, curtailing activities that could cause fire.
For more information about fire and injury prevention, contact the Yuma Fire Department Public Information Office at 928-373-4855