Month: September 2025

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Fire risks are on the rise as Missouri is set to enter another dry month, with drought conditions expected.

Dryness started back in July and continued through August, the former being recorded as the second-driest month in history for the City of Columbia.

Both the Columbia Fire Department and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which tracks the state’s climate patterns, report the current drought is typical for the season.

“Especially with the fall weather, there’s a lot of dry vegetation out there and if you couple that with strong winds or just the low humidity in the air, that’s something we always keep in account,” Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman Katherine Rodriguez said.

Drought tracking from Sept. 2 shows the majority of Missouri is abnormally dry or in a moderate drought. Both categories increase the risk of fires, with burn bans typically being put in place in moderate drought locations.

“We know that it can go from moderate drought to extreme drought within a week or two weeks,” Cooper County Fire Protection District spokesman William Johnson said.

In October 2022, Cooper County Fire helped respond to a massive wildfire that burned more than 3,700 acres, 23 structures and displaced more than 100 people. Severe drought conditions and high winds caused the fire to rapidly spread.

“You can have a small fire somewhere around two or three feet in diameter, about the size of a trash can,  and then that quickly spread within 10 or 15 minutes to a quarter of an acre or a full acre,” Johnson said.

Johnson adds that any small ember or spark can cause a fire in dry and windy conditions. This includes items like cigarette butts, barbecue embers or the spark from a vehicle’s chains on the road.

“We could have farm equipment or a vehicle that will pass by and do that, a lot of times, even using the combine or farming equipment, if it hits a wire or if it hits a rock or something like that can cause a spark,” Johnson said.

Rodriguez added that outside fires can break out anywhere, even inside city limits.

“Sometimes equipment that you use to mow your lawns, that can start to spark too and then there you have a fire on your hands if you’re not careful,” Rodriguez said.

Both Johnson and Rodriguez remind residents to check heavy machinery for any damage before use and to have water or a fire extinguisher on hand when working during dry periods. Hot coals should be disposed of in metal containers and smokers should be cautious when throwing out materials.

Residents should also be aware of burn orders and should contact their local departments before burning brush or trash during dry periods.

“It’s important for residents to maintain situational awareness and everything that they do, especially when it comes to fire safety,” Rodriguez said. “Something so small can impact not only you but your neighbors.”

Johnson added residents in rural areas should also have an evacuation plan in place in case of a brush fire.

“Once they pick up, they start moving very, very rapidly,” Johnson said.

Elizabeth Kerby, a DNR environmental engineer, suggests residents experiencing drought check out the department’s website for resources on fire safety and relief opportunities. Residents can also submit weekly photos and observations of their yards to help the department track drought patterns in the state.

“Currently, we’re preparing some material information for the administration to consider for future directions,” Kerby said. “But yes, this drought is something that we are actively monitoring.”

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Turning Point USA’s chapter at the University of Missouri held a vigil for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Wednesday evening.

“It was a lot to see someone that had influenced me in becoming more open about my politics lose their life like that,” said Brenden Poteet, President of the Mizzou College Republicans.

Kirk, the national group’s founder, was shot and killed at a Wednesday event held at a Utah college.

MU chapter President Paige Schulte said at the event that they were in the final stages of getting Kirk to speak at the Columbia campus on Sept. 29.

ABC 17 News counted roughly 60 people in attendance at the vigil.

Daniel Seitz, Chief of staff for Missouri State Sen. Brad Hudson, spoke to ABC 17 News about fear of political violence among lawmakers.

“Charlie died in the midst of public discourse. He died doing something that the people who hated him demanded politicians do more of, which is speaking to them in public,” Seitz said.

Seitz said he worked with kirk when he was first starting up the conservative group Turning Point USA.

“Barack Obama at the time had really courted a lot of young people to come to the Democratic Party. So he was turning that on its on its face and saying, ‘Young people are not lost to the Republican Party. We can have a new generation of the the Reagan youth of the 80s,'” Seitz said.

He said political violence has become increasingly normalized during the past decade due to social media.

“It’s very easy to let that evil fester behind the screen and then because of what they hear and because of that echo chamber, what they see, they take that and it turns into violent action,” Seitz said.

U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) announced a pause to public events following the news of Kirk’s shooting.

“Due to this rise in political violence, our office will be pausing all public events, including town halls, until further notice. I will not risk the safety of my family, my staff, or my own personal safety because some choose violence over dialogue,” Alford wrote in in a text message to ABC 17 News while giving condolences on Kirk’s passing.

Seitz said Hudson will not be increasing his security detail as of right now, but safety is on the top of their mind in light of Kirk’s death.

“What we cannot do is give in to fear, we cannot give in to violence, we cannot give in to the people who would like to silence that discourse,” Seitz said.

President Donald Trump also ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Kirk through Sunday night.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia’s new “Ride Home” program will start accepting referrals the week of Oct. 6.

City of Columbia spokeswoman Sydney Olsen told ABC 17 News in an email that staff at Room at the Inn, Turning Point and the city’s divert program will be able to make referrals.

The city has discussed a possible homeless transportation program since March. The City Council on Aug. 4 agreed to amend its existing contract with First Last Mile to drive those experiencing homelessness a ride back to where they came from.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday for a gun charge, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Semaj Clark, 25, was charged with being a felon with a gun. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

The release claims Clark was found with a handgun on Aug. 10 in Boone County. Clark previously pleaded guilty to a felony last year in Boone County and is not allowed to own a gun.

Clark pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2024, to third-degree domestic assault and was sentenced to five years of supervised probation, along with a four-year suspended sentence. He also pleaded guilty to driving without a license that same day. He also pleaded guilty to driving without a license on July 24, 2023.

Probation violations for all three cases were filed on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

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