JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — The combination of dry conditions, low humidity and erratic winds have kept area firefighters busy for the past several days.
“We’ve been running like mad, mostly to mutual aid and brush fires,” said Tom Fitzgerald, chief of the De Soto Rural Fire Protection District, which, at 174 square miles, is geographically the largest fire district in Jefferson County.
From just before 4:55 a.m. Monday, Feb. 26, through noon Wednesday, Feb. 28, De Soto Rural firefighters responded to 20 calls, including 16 just over the weekend, and most of those calls were brush fire-related, Fitzgerald said.
The district averages about five calls under normal conditions.
“We are more than double that right now,” Fitzgerald said.
De Soto Rural has six firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, staffing three of its six stations, so the district relies on part-time staff and volunteers to respond to all the calls, he said.
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