Elevated Fire Risk in Kalamazoo: Here’s What You Need to Know

It was a busy weekend for the Office of Emergency Management in Kalamazoo as no less than 8 brushfires broke out over the weekend, according to a recent Facebook post. 

While the exact locations of these brushfires were not listed, I'm fairly certain one was in my apartment complex. I walked out to run some errands and noticed a plume of white smoke billowing from an empty area of the complex. They've been doing ongoing construction so my first thought was, optimistically, "oh they're clearing some brush because they're building more apartments." Then, I heard the sirens. Thankfully, they worked quickly to put out the fire and that was the end of it.

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With dry, windy conditions and low humidity, the US National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a warning about elevated fire danger. We are expected some rain as early as tomorrow (March 22nd) which will, hopefully, provide some relief to the dry conditions.

To prevent fires, here's what you should avoid:

The US National Weather Service also offered some tips of what to avoid so you don't accidentally start an out of control brush fire:

• Burning leaves
• Tossing cigarette butts outdoors
• Grilling over grassy areas

As well, you should contact your local fire department to find out when its safe to burn. For Kalamazoo, you can find all contact information here.

While no injuries or loss of property resulted from the weekend brush fires, not everyone is so lucky. One Muskegon family is working hard to recover after a house fire. Read their story and see how you can help below: