JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – A dry, windy Friday forced officials to issue a red flag warning for much of Missouri and parts of Illinois. 

Fire crews were busy, as multiple brush fires broke out across the greater St. Louis area, including in Jefferson County.

Video from the Bear Creek Estates Neighborhood in House Springs, Missouri, showed large smoke billowing from a large brush fire. 

Residents reported that more than a dozen fire trucks responded to the scene from multiple nearby departments.

Alyson Rotter with the Rock Community Fire Protection District said the brush fires are a reminder of how important it is for everyone to take red flag warnings seriously.

“Brush fires can be tricky. Once they catch, they catch quick,” Rotter said.

Rotter said their crews helped with multiple “move-ups” for other departments, where they helped staff fire stations in other fire districts while they responded to brush fires in their area. 

She said brush fires—like the one Friday in Jefferson County—can often be challenging for crews to extinguish.

“The big challenges they face with these brush fires are (that) they’re unpredictable,” Rotter said. “They can spread really quickly if they hit dry patches and that wind picks up. It can shift from one place to another. And they’re hard to contain.”

Fire crews also responded to a brush fire in Florissant Friday near Patterson Road. 

Rotter said it’s a reminder that these red flag warnings are issued for a reason and should not be taken lightly.

“They’re put in place to keep everybody safe and to preserve life and property,” she said. “If people don’t heed (to) these warnings, things can go really bad really quickly.”

And even as the red flag warning expired Friday at 8 p.m., fire officials are still warning people against bonfires until rain moves into our area.