Drought conditions not only mean water restrictions, but an increased danger of fire with the countryside as dry as kindling.

Lafayette and Red Boiling Springs firefighters prevented the spread of two brushfires of unknown origin Sunday, August 12.

A family of three children escaped injury, but fire damaged the roof, ceiling and walls of their wood frame house during the wee hours of Monday morning, August 13. The Lafayette Fire Department subdued an out of control trash fire mid-morning Monday and a hay fire Tuesday.

Red Boiling Springs Volunteer firefighters responded to a grass fire late Sunday afternoon, along a span of Heady Ridge Road, where almost 200 feet of vegetation along the roadside was charred black; but prompt intervention prevented the fire from spreading to a nearby barn.

No cause of the fire was evident, and the damage didn't look like it was caused by a tossed cigarette butt, according to RBS Fire Chief Danny Knight.

“It almost looks like maybe a piece of hay or something burning rolled along the area,” the chief speculated, explaining there was no way to tell for sure what ignited the dry grass.

Later Sunday night, Lafayette firefighters extinguished a small brushfire under a wooden bridge on Cave Hollow Road, outside the Lafayette city limits.

Firefighters stood in the shallow creek, spraying the bridge as well as the smoldering brush to prevent damage to the narrow, but sturdy, wooden structure; and County Road Supervisor Chop Porter was on hand to assess the condition of the bridge, reported to be county property.

“There was a brush pile burning against the bridge,” Don Stevens of the LFD explained.

“You can see four wheeler tracks down there,” a firefighter on the scene said, pointing to the creek bank near the origin of the brush fire and speculating that carelessness caused the fire.

See Fires cause damage, page 3 A

No damage to the wooden bridge was reported.

Pre-dawn Monday, August 13.Lafayette firefighters found flames shooting through the roof when they arrived at the one story wood frame home of James and Peggy Langford and three young children at 58 East Lane, Lafayette,

The kitchen stove was reported to be the cause of the blaze that destroyed the ceiling and roof and damaged walls of the home.

By mid-morning Monday, Lafayette firefighters were off on another grass fire call, at 7430 Old Highway 52. As with the other two grass and brush fires, this one was quickly brought under control, thanks to a fast response.

“The owner was burning some trash and it got out of control,” Freddie Fuqua of the LFD explained.

The Lafayette Fire Department has equipment that enables them to take water from a lake or pond, when possible, but continued dry conditions can threaten the levels of all water sources, according to water officials.

“We're trying to do our part with the water restrictions,” Fuqua explained.

Increased awareness is recommended to prevent property damage, or loss of life, by exercising caution with fire during this dry time of increased fire hazard and serious water shortages.