The National Weather Service warned Tuesday of an extreme fire risk caused by drought conditions, record heat and unusually low humidity drying out vegetation. The declaration came as a U.S. congresswoman asked for a drought designation to trigger federal aid for farmers.
U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, sent a letter Monday to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to designate southern Missouri counties experiencing extreme drought as disaster counties.
The National Weather Service said Tuesday morning that the fire risk remains and temperatures for the rest of the week are expected in the upper 90s and lower 100s.
USDA-Farm Service Agency is in the process of making drought assessments of all 114 Missouri counties, following a request from Gov. Jay Nixon. The National Climatic Data Center has reported moderate drought conditions persist across most of the state, however, extreme drought conditions exist in southern Missouri.
“These conditions are taking a serious toll on crop conditions and haying and grazing for our livestock. For livestock producers, hay is already in short supply, and the drought is only further exacerbating this problem. A disaster designation for these counties is a required first step in the process for producers to qualify for emergency assistance,” Emerson said.
The dry conditions have firemen in the area — who have been called to numerous calls — on high alert. The National Weather Service said the extreme dry conditions can cause a fire to quickly spread. Fireworks can trigger blazes. On Saturday, someone set a bottle rock off, and a grass fire was quickly reported on North U.S.
Overheated vehicles also caused problems. A weekend blaze on Highway 17 at Eunice spread to grass. Firemen from Raymondville and Summersville responded. Another vehicle was reported on fire west of Raymondville that same day.
Firefighters from three departments were called Saturday to a house fire on Hunter Drive at Eunice. Summersville, Clear Springs and Raymondville departments were dispatched to fight the blaze amid scorching heat. Additional volunteers were called because of the high temperatures. The American Red Cross responded to provide refreshments. Neighbors said the home was occupied by the William “Raymond” Crane family and five children. They are living in a nearby garage unaffected by the blaze that destroyed the home.
About 30 acres burned Friday afternoon at Hartshorn off Edgmond Drive. Summersville and Clear Springs departments were called, as well as a Missouri Department of Conservation bulldozer.
The conservation department banned burning — with a few exceptions — at conservation areas. Montauk State Park east of Licking also is under a burn ban.
The conservation area order includes prohibiting campfires and other open fires, including charcoal grills. The fire ban does permit the use of contained camp stoves and charcoal cooking fires in concrete or metal fire rings. The use of firewood in cooking fires is prohibited.
Luckily, no huge fires have popped up in Texas County. In Iron County, a Mark Twain National Forest Fire consumed several hundred acres and prompted Nixon to open an emergency operations center to oversee dangerous wildfires.
That fire risk had community leaders wringing their hands on whether to cancel fireworks shows. Most did. Licking, Cabool and a display at Pomona were postponed in advance of the Fourth holiday.
Others looked to provide relief: Houston announced Wednesday hours, noon to 5 p.m., at Houston Municipal Swimming Pool.
Texas County Memorial Hospital said Monday heat-related diagnoses in the past week have increased. Eight cases of heat exhaustion have been seen in the emergency room since June 23.
Houston City Administrator Larry Sutton says while there is no official “peak alert” on electrical usage, residents should curtail their energy consumption from 3-7 p.m. to avoid hitting new usage records, which could increase power rates.