VIDALIA — Flames race across a field, a large plume of smoke rises into the air and a passer-by calls the authorities to warn of the conflagration.

But it’s not an out of control grassfire — it’s a local farmer clearing a field so the next seasonal planting can begin.

Concordia Fire District No. 2 Chief Nolen Cothern said the fire district receives a lot of calls about the field fires this time of year.

“We have pretty much gotten to where we get one man to check it out when we get one of those calls,” Cothern said. “We used to send a truck every time, but now we wait until we find out what it is.”

Using fire to clear a field of stubble is an old agricultural method.

But this year, it may also be the only way to guarantee a nasty pest doesn’t keep haunting a field.

Earlier this year, Concordia Parish Extension Director Glen Daniels said Concordia Parish has had a small-scale slug infestation, something it doesn’t usually have to deal with.

Burning the field, as well as disking it up, is an important methods of controlling the slug problem, Daniels said.

Using fire to clean out the field is also economical.

“With the price of gas the way it is, it is a lot cheaper to burn a field than to disc it up,” Cothern said.

As a fire official, Cothern said he had two pieces of advice to anyone planning to burn their fields.

“Just make sure to plow around them with a disc, and have someone out there to watch and make sure it doesn’t get out of hand,” he said.