Grills are heating up for summer, and fires are sure to follow.

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Grilling, fireworks and children keep the Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department busy during the summer, said Lt. Carlton Bradley.

The department sees 20 to 30 fires related to grilling every summer, and they're already popping up, Bradley said.

National numbers show grilling accidents result in 10 to 15 deaths annually and thousands in property damage.

Fireworks also result in a lot of damage, especially on the Fourth of July.

"People tend to want to experiment when they get (fireworks), and that's a problem," Bradley said. "They want to twist two or three together to make it stronger or put it in a can to see it blow up in the air."

Fireworks that leave the ground and explode aren't legal in Georgia, but Bradley said that doesn't stop people from driving to South Carolina and bringing them back.

Sparklers, however, are legal and are just as likely to start a fire if dropped in the right place.

Sparklers that burn at 1,200 degrees are hotter than a stove, which only goes to 500. Even after they've been used, sparklers will remain hot.

"We tell kids not to touch the stove, but we'll give them the sparklers to go play with," he said.

Bradley said 58 percent of fireworks-related injuries happen on the Fourth of July. Fireworks also represent about $357 million in personal damage.

Bored kids during the summer are potentially dangerous for firefighters as well. Juvenile-related fires are at a high from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while parents are away at work, Brantley said.

"Things are really hot, the grass has dried out, kids are out for the summer and playing with matches and before you know it, you've got a fire," said Cathy Black, a senior forester with Georgia Forestry Commission.

A burn ban for 54 Georgia counties, including Richmond and Columbia, is one way the state tries to reduce fires. However, that doesn't stop people from burning illegally.

"Our biggest problem is when people are burning debris in their yard," Black said. "Then maybe they get a phone call or go inside and the next thing you know it's gotten out of hand."

Black said if people will only wait until Oct. 1, when the ban ends, then they can burn all of the yard debris they want as long as they're wary of weather conditions.

Forest fires, however, are at a low during this time of year. Winter is fire season in the woods.

Falling leaves, a continuous layer of fuel on the ground, and lower humidities are the primary cause for winter fires, she said.

The last time she saw a large forestry-related fire was about 10 years ago, Black said, in an area around U.S. Highway 1 and Bobby Jones Expressway. Fires had begun to spread into neighboring subdivisions.

"The biggest problem is when you have fires in urban areas where wetlands and urban areas meet," Black said. "We have major issues then, because we have forest fires threatening homes."