Grass fires are keeping firefighters in St. Joseph County busy as people start to work on outdoor chores with the nicer weather.

One chore that is usually top of the list is clearing away leaves or other brush that accumulates over the winter.

"There were 28 field and brush fires throughout St Joe county," said Clay Fire Territory Fire Marshall David Cherrone. "Half of those were actually in a two day period where we had nice weather like this. What tends to happen is obviously people want to get out from being in all winter, but they don't realize there are some restrictions that go along with that."

The restrictions include getting a burn permit, which is free from the St. Joesph County Health Department.

A permit is required to ensure only people who understand how to safely hold a controlled burn are burning natural brush. You can get a fine for not having a permit.

Some safety tips include not burning during high winds and dry conditions, not using accelerators like gas or kerosene, burn leaves in a container and not on the ground, and never leaving a fire unattended.

"If you wouldn't put a child out in the yard and expect them to stand still and not move around, don't think that a fire that has no control of any kind is going to do the same thing," said Cherrone.

Cherrone also said just because there's green grass, doesn't mean the grass is dry.

"Even with all the rain we've had, this is pretty dry going pretty far down," said Cherrone as he dug up some dirt and grass outside the fire station. "This is just kindling for a fire once the wind picks it up and helps it spread."