The calls keep coming in: Brush fire after brush fire.

This week, we’ve reported again and again that the woods are catching fire, and, in some cases, spreading to sheds and garages.

Thus far, we’ve been fortunate to avoid reporting on a house fire caused by the flames, but one night this week, a fire came close to affecting a Brady Township home.

Scott Thompson, a resident of Staff Road, said he woke up in the middle of the night to find the woods outside his house on fire. He took a garden hose to the fire while waiting for the fire departments, which brought the fire to its end.

He called for help at 2:30 a.m., and the fire departments remained at his property until about 5 a.m., he said.

Simply put, the fires this week have taken a toll on our local fire departments, as they are called on again and again to contain fires and keep structures from going up in flames.

In many cases, these fires are preventable. And while the weather seems like it’s helping us out in terms of fire prevention (rain), those considering fires — whether it be to burn leaves or have a campfire — really need to tune into what’s happening around them, and when a high risk exists, stop lighting things on fire.

There have been signs to indicate that a fire is not a good idea.

On Monday morning, the National Weather Service issued an “increased fire danger warning” for a large portion of Western Pennsylvania, including Butler and surrounding counties. Late last week, the Pennsylvania Drought Task Force included Butler County in a drought watch late last week.

The National Weather Service of Pittsburgh said Tuesday, Nov. 5, that weather conditions have been ideal for brush fires to spread through leaves and other debris.

And though the weather appears to be changing in a way to help, one meteorologist Tuesday urged residents to look at the weather before starting a fire.

Our advice: Be alert. Watch the weather before you light something on fire.

— TL