LITTLE ROCK—With August, chances are good a wildfire is raging somewhere in Arkansas.

Five broke out by midday Monday and firefighters expected to battle more as the day heated up with no clouds in sight.

Thirteen fires broke out Sunday and 19 the previous day, said Christina Fowler, conservation education manager for the Arkansas Forestry Commission.

So far, no residential or business properties have been damaged and no one has been seriously injured, although a firefighter in Lafayette County on Sunday suffered from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion and was treated at a hospital, Fowler said.

August is the driest month in Arkansas, according to readings for Little Rock from the National Weather Service. Little Rock’s average rainfall in August is 2.93 inches. The central Arkansas city’s July average is the second lowest with 3.31 inches.

“We are in the lowest precip period of the year,” weather service hydrologist Steve Bays said. “The averages start to increase after this month.”

Twenty-three counties had burn bans by midday Monday, and the threat of wildfires was moderate to high in most of the state. Camden in south Arkansas hit a record high Sunday of 106 degrees. The previous record was 105 degrees in 1918. North Little Rock hit a record high of 104 degrees on Sunday. Its previous record was 103.

“We really need all Arkansans if at all possible to avoid burning to try to prevent additional fires,” Fowler said.

Each year, Arkansas foresters contend with two fire seasons: one in March that sometimes stretches into April, the other that starts Aug. 1. This year, the commission has had to activate water drops from its two planes earlier, beginning July 29, Fowler said.

“That was simply because we were starting to see an increase in fires,” she said.

Debbie Ugbade, a spokeswoman for the National Forest Service, said that so far this month, there’s been no wildfires reported in the national forests in Arkansas, although fires have broken out on the Oklahoma side of the Ouachita National Forest.

In 2000, wildfires scorched about 1,400 acres in and around Petit Jean State Park the week before Labor Day. So far this year, wildfires worked by state foresters have been on private lands. The commission is in the early stages of trying to determine the causes.

Wildfires Sunday destroyed about 693 acres in eight counties, including nearly 400 northeast of Bradley in Lafayette County.

Monday morning, crews worked a wildfire on about 15 acres near Bond in Dallas County. They also fought a fire on about 20 acres of Deltic Timber property in Pulaski County, most likely started by lightning, Fowler said. Crews worked two fires in Lincoln County and one in Bradley County.

The counties with burn bans Monday included: Ashley, Chicot, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Crawford, Dallas, Faulkner, Garland, Hempstead, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita, Polk, Perry, Pulaski, Saline and Sebastian.

The forestry commission said Arkansans living in wooded areas should take measures to prevent wildfires. The agency discouraged burning, discarding cigarettes on the ground, and parking vehicles where exhaust pipes touch the grass. Property owners also should be mindful that sparks from lawn mowers and hay baling equipment can start a wildfire.

To prevent wildfires, property owners can thin trees near their homes, remove undergrowth, and clear dead leaves and pine needles from roofs, gutters and along the base of the residence.