Boone County Fire Protection District handles 105 more fire-related calls in March than February

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

March was a busy month for wildfires around Mid-Missouri.

The spate of fires led to a spike in calls for the Boone County Fire Protection District.

The Boone County Fire Protection District responded to 419 calls during March, according to a BCFPD Facebook post. Of those, 159 were for fires.

Fire calls in March were considerably higher than in the preceding two months. BCFPD firefighters were sent to 81 fire calls in January, 54 in February and 159 in March.

There were also 66 more fire-related calls for service in March compared to the 93 the fire district received during March 2024.

The surge in calls was partly driven by periods of extreme wildfire danger during the month. Wildfires forced evacuations in southern Boone County on March 14 near Hartsburg. Evacuations were also necessary during two separate wildfire outbreaks in Camden County that week.

"Without question, that was the increase in our calls." Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp said. "Wildfires."

Blomenkamp has said earlier this year that February through April is the typical fire season for Mid-Missouri, previous reporting shows.

The fire danger continued Tuesday, with Boone County firefighters battling a wildfire off Route VV near Prathersville. BCFPD was called to the 6400 block of N Route VV around 12:30 p.m. and battled the blazes for about four hours.

Balers were working in the field when a small fire started, Blomenkamp said.

"They [balers] tried to extinguish that [small fire] with their fire extinguishers," he said. "That was unsuccessful. And by the time crews arrived, we had several acres of miscanthus grass burning."

More than 20 firefighters were on the scene around 2 p.m. At that point, Blomenkamp said it was a controlled burn. The fire burned about 25-30 acres and likely started from baling equipment hitting rocks and sparking.

"It's the time of year that you cut it [miscanthus grass] and bale it," Blomenkamp said. "Even a single spark from a rock could set that thing on fire."

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team is tracking fire danger for most of Mid-Missouri on Tuesday. The National Weather Service in St. Louis put out a hazardous weather outlook saying elevated fire danger is possible across Central and northeast Missouri.

The high winds, with gusts of nearly 30 mph expected in Columbia, will combine with dry air to make burning hazardous.