Tuesday, June 14, 2011 / News 12 at 6 o'Clock

BEECH ISLAND, S.C. -- It can be easy for brush fires to start during these dry, summer months. Firemen battled one in the Warrenville-Langley area this week. It was the fourth time firefighters were called out there since last week. Crews also battled a seven-acre fire off Peach Orchard Rd. last week.

Some of these fires can put homes in danger. If the breeze hits just right, brush fires can destroy everything in their paths.

"Brush fires are very difficult to predict because of wind patterns and everything," Beech Island Fire Chief Justin Craven said.

He also says while they're hard to predict, they aren't so hard to protect your home against.

"Keep you grass cut short, keep it watered," Craven instructed. "Make sure you pick up your branches out of your yard. If you have low lying limbs you might want to trim those up."

It's all about eliminating the fuel to a fire, and another way to do it is to play in the dirt by grabbing your shovel and digging up a barrier.

"Some people do them around their fences. We've seen them in the middle of yards. They're called natural fire breaks," Craven said.

Making a natural fire break is pretty simple. You just have to dig up a little of your yard and separate the grass and roots from the dirt. You want to make sure these breaks are about 18 inches to give your home plenty of protection from flames.

The fire breaks don't have to be deep either.

"It's not the fact you want it deep," Craven explained. "You want it wide."

If you're going to make one, you want it as close to your house as possible. If you aren't going to make one, firefighters say at least keep your grass short. Fires need fuel, oxygen, and heat, and long, dry grass is a lot of fuel.