BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - John Muth, who owns a plumbing business in Hettinger, is more of a part-time plumber these days, and more of a full-time firefighter.

The Hettinger Fire Department has fought 19 fires in 20 days, Muth said Friday afternoon, still out of breath after returning from a grass fire in southern Adams County. The 32-year veteran of the fire department said this summer's fire threat on the drought-stricken prairie is as bad as he's seen.

"It's unusual," he said.

State Fire Marshal Ray Lambert said many of North Dakota's volunteer firefighters are battling both blazes and burnout.

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"We're now having some departments responding to two or three fires a day," Lambert said. "These are volunteers that are working eight to 12 hours already. Taking time away from their jobs and their families to go chase fires is very trying."

Lambert said about a fourth of the state's 380 volunteer fire departments have handled more calls this summer because dry conditions have increased the risk of fires, especially in the southwest part of the state.

"If we don't get some of that precious rain, even more areas of the state are going to be affected," he said.

Lambert said Friday he had not tallied the number of fires to which volunteer crews have responded this year - but he said it's many.

"The data is starting to stack up and the numbers are not looking good - and for the crews fighting these fires - it's bad," he said.

The state has seen a spike in rural grass fires just in the past week, when temperatures soared above 100 degrees in Bismarck and Dickinson, he said.

"The numbers are increasing, they're increasing in size, and the amount of time spent at the fires and the number of crews responding have increased," Lambert said.

Hettinger Fire Chief Mahlon Schweigert said most of his department's 25 volunteers have responded to every blaze this summer.

"People just give up their jobs and come out and do it," Schweigert said. "If there's going to be a fire, I want it to happen after 5 o'clock when people are off work."

It rarely happens that way, he said.

"Probably 95 percent of guys who go on a fire call - their paycheck stops," Muth said. "That's what we volunteer for so we just do it."

Schweigert said some businesses keep their employees on the clock even though they're out fighting fires.

"A lot of the businesses just take it as community service," he said. "The worst is the self-employed people - it really puts a financial burden on them."

Muth said he puts in extra hours at his plumbing business to make up for the time he fights fires for free.

"You just work a little bit longer, putting in a night here or a Saturday there, or whatever it takes," he said.

North Dakota has about 8,000 volunteer firefighters, Lambert said.

"There are many locations in the state that are just primed to burn," Lambert said. "The normal activities that a volunteer fire department has to contend with year round is difficult enough. The increased activity starting now will be wearing very, very thin on departments and the volunteers."

Lambert said the increased in fire calls this summer also is burning up local budgets.

"Running fire equipment is getting more expensive - fuel costs alone have tripled over five years ago," he said. "It takes $300 to $500 in fuel costs just to roll out for a grass fire. It certainly is going to weigh heavily on communities if the conditions don't improve."