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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Because of the hot and dry weather, some counties and cities are under burn bans.

As of Thursday afternoon, out of 99 counties, only three are under burn bans; all of them being located in the northeastern part of the Hawkeye state.

To enact a burn ban, fire chiefs from around the county will come to a consensus that a ban needs to be enacted. They then contact the emergency management coordinator for their respective county, who then contacts the Iowa State Fire Marshal. The state fire marshal will then put the ban into place.

In Wapello County, even though a ban is not active, firefighters still want to caution people.

"Right now, there is no burn ban. So what we would like to see people do, if they do burn, burn small piles. They should keep a garden hose available and they should not leave the fire unattended. The way these dry conditions are right now, a small fire can become a big fire pretty quickly and with the wind driven conditions and that type of thing," said Deputy Chief Cory Benge of the Ottumwa Fire Department.

Benge says that if you are burning a large fire, alert the fire department so that it is not called out by mistake.

"If you are going to have a large fire, contact your local fire department. Let them know that you are having the fire. If it gets out of control one bit, and you think you can't handle it, call right away and don't try to put the fire out yourself, and let it get bigger and bigger and then call. Call right away. This is what we do. So you are not going to get in trouble for calling the fire department to give you assistance," said Benge.

If you have any questions about burning outdoors, contact the Ottumwa Fire Department at 641-683-0666.