BEATRICE - As the winter snow finally melts and temperatures rise, it can often mean one thing for fire departments in southeast Nebraska: a start to the spring wildfire season.

With forecasts later this week calling for temperatures possibly topping out in the mid 70’s, Beatrice Fire Chief Brian Daake says he and his crew are monitoring conditions.

“People are done with the snow, they’re staring to go outside more,” Daake said. “It’s dry. Humidity is still low, with some recreational activities, that’s often how wildfires start.”

Some of those activities lead to improperly discarded cigarette buds ending up in the wrong place, mechanical failures in vehicles and machinery, as well as occasional recreational fires. Last fall, an estimated 9,000 acres of northern Gage and southern Lancaster county went up in flames. Daake said one takeaway from that occurrence was the importance of the 18 agencies that responded, and the volunteer farmers, all working together.

“I’ve heard if it wasn’t for the tractors with their disks, they would have been a lot worse off then they were,” Daake said. “The lessons learned are, strike hard and fast with all resources that you can…  Try to have a coordinated effort before they start getting within reach of properties, buildings, etc.”

With wildfires often originating from human activity, Daake provides tips to avoid them.

“Keep combustibles between 5’-30’ from our homes,” Daake said. “Then, the next 30’, make sure there’s no dead brush, the grass is cut short, those kinds of things. The taller the grass is when it’s dry, the faster it burns because it has more energy being taller.”

If you do encounter wildfire in person, Daake encourages the public to call 9-1-1 as soon as possible so all necessary agencies can respond in a timely manner.