The summer’s dry drought conditions are potentially dangerous for more than corn crops and food prices.

John Harrod, NIU Physical Plant director, said the dry conditions have created another potential outdoor problem: grassfires.

A discarded cigarette apparently ignited a small grassfire July 15 at Stadium Drives North and West, he said.

Several NIU groundsworkers and plumbers were able to subdue the 200-square-foot fire with a nearby fire hydrant, and did not need to call DeKalb firefighters.

He said other potential fire-starters include hot mufflers on cars idling close to street curbs.

Assistant Chief David Walker of the DeKalb Fire Department agreed, saying a car’s catalytic converter can become hot enough to ignite nearby grass.

He said the dryness led to a city ban on open burning “a little over a month ago.”

“Under city ordinances, citizens can only burn things such as grass clippings anyway,” Walker said. However, the extremity of the dryness and the possibility of the wind blowing even a small fire out of control are too risky to allow any kind of open burning, he said.

“We do have several grassfires every summer, but there have been more with the drought weather this year,” Walker said. “The condition of the grass is such that, once these things get burning, they really go.”

David Emanuelson, director of the DeKalb County Park District, said his office has had to handle “little grassfires here and there,” but that the recent rains have helped dampen fire potential.

Park visitors leaving burning brush piles unattended are the biggest source of fire danger in county parks, he said.

Walker said even a charcoal fire, though it might appear harmless, should be handled with extra precaution in extremely dry weather.