Grass fire in Aurora, Mo., prompts warning about dry conditions

AURORA, Mo. (KY3) - A grass fire broke out Saturday afternoon in a field west of Aurora High School, with investigators saying fireworks may have sparked the flames.

A man living in a nearby neighborhood told KY3 he heard what sounded like fireworks before seeing smoke and flames spreading across the field.

Resident reported the fire to 911

Jay Burdett said he stepped outside his house to check on the sound and saw smoke coming from behind a nearby duplex.

“And so I came outside the house to kind of see what the sound was and I looked over behind the white duplex, and that’s when I saw smoke, and I came back inside and told her there was a fire back there and we called 911,” Burdett said.

Burdett saw smoke coming from a field near Carnation and Prospect Streets. The fire spread through dry grass as wind pushed the flames farther south.

“And once the fire got to the trees, it got real tall and cut 2 lines on the electric pole out there,” Burdett said. “They didn’t come loose, but something popped on them. The electricity all fluttered for everybody.”

Police describe conditions as “recipe for disaster”

Aurora Police Chief Wes Coatney said dry ground cover allowed the fire to spread rapidly.

“It’s a recipe for disaster. And I don’t think the average person really understands just how fast a foliage fire can get out of control,” Coatney said. “We’re used to having our fire pits in our yard and things like that. But if you get ground cover with leaves, dry grass and all of that, you can burn a lot of acres in 10 minutes, 15 minutes.”

Coatney said witnesses told police someone drove by the field and shot off what may have been an artillery-style firework. He said fireworks are only legal in Aurora around the Fourth of July and New Year’s. No buildings were damaged, though homes and other structures surround the field.

Chief warns of possible felony charges

Coatney said setting off fireworks illegally could lead to charges beyond a local ordinance violation if a structure catches fire.

“It may be a small ordinance violation to set off a firework, but what people failed sometimes to understand is that if I shoot the firework in the direction of a house and set the house on fire, I’m not talking about an ordinance violation,” Coatney said. “I’m talking about felony arson at that point or felony property damage.”

Burdett watched the fire from his front yard as it moved across the field. He said the wind direction affected how the situation unfolded.

“Yeah, no, if the wind would have been coming south to north, these people definitely would have been in danger on the corner here,” Burdett said.

Coatney said limited recent rain had improved conditions, but the ground can still be dry enough for a fire to spread quickly.

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