Clay Fire fights 10 brush fires in 10 days

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --  The dry weather and hot temperatures are putting firefighters to work this summer.  Clay firefighters are warning residents across St. Joseph County to quit burning.

They have had 10 fires in the last 10 days.  On Sunday night, Clay Fire conducted an experiment to show residents how fast brush fires can spread if left unattended.

Brush fires have been spreading like wild fire in St. Joseph County this past week.

"In the last 10 days in the area of St. Joseph County we have had 10 brush fires," said Clay Fire Marshall Dave Cherrone.

Cherrone says the majority of these brush fires were caused by people making one big mistake.

"In many cases people just left them unattended and came back," said Cherrone.

The marshall said this dry weather can make fire on dead grass spread this fast.

"We were trying to dig deep so we can see how hard it is but this is deep as we could go because it was so hard," said Cherrone.

"From our original size to what it looks now..it was less than 30 seconds," said Cherrone.

One of the main reasons, Marshall Cherrone says no one should be burning.

"Don't burn anything," said Cherrone.

But the marshall said if you must burn, he does have a few tips for your safety.

"Burn on a windless day," said Cherrone.

He also says do not forget to keep the proper tools around to extinguish the fire you started.

"Which mean you have shovels and garden hoses and that you supervise it at all times," said Cherrone.