WINSTON-SALEM, NC — It’s that time of year when brush and grass fires are more likely to happen. According to fire officials, during the spring and fall brush and grass fires happen often due to low humidity and high winds.

In Winston-Salem, firefighters have put out over 165 brush and grass fires this year.

Winston-Salem Fire Department (WSFD) Battalion Chief Joseph Ramsey recently surveyed a wooded area where a fire broke out. It had spread to multiple abandoned homes and trailer homes in Winston-Salem

“A spark or a fire and wind, when you get that, you know, this is what happens and this is what happened here,” Ramsey explained, looking at the dried-up leaves and brush clippings. “If you have a woods fire, if you have a fire that gets up close to the home when there’s not a break in fuel, and when they don’t have a break between that and their home, then the fire can go right up to their home and catch the home on fire.”

Chief Ramsey has been a part of the Winston-Salem Fire Department since 1996 and has put out thousands of brush and grass fires over the years. He said during the fall and spring seasons especially, brush and grass fires are common — and that’s without the recent drought the state has seen.

“Conditions that we’ve recently had, it’s been so dry. Today’s the first amount of rain we’ve had in a month or two. So our dry conditions, humidity, when the humidity drops, we see tremendous potential for fire. So, small fires can become big fires quickly,” Ramesy said.

The drought also means increased precautions for the public.

“So, we’ve got multiple problems, multiple fire problems from discarded smoking material to someone warming, you know, or cooking. They could be cooking on an open fire and they don’t extinguish their ashes. So, we can have some of the same issues that they have in the forest,” Ramesy said.

He's hoping that the recent soaking across the state will help prevent brush and grass fires from breaking out for now.

“Leaves in brush can be dried out by wind. So if we get high winds once again, you have the same problem. It just really depends on how much rain we get and if it’s a good soaking rain,” Ramsey said.

The U.S. Department of the Interior says when it comes to preventing brush fires, avoid anything involving fire or sparks when it’s dry and windy. Keep vehicles off dry grass, and never burn debris when it’s windy or restricted.