Hot, windy conditions kept the Madison Fire Department busy on Thursday as fire crews had to extinguish 10 outdoor fires.

Fire officials said most of the fires involved smoldering mulch, officials said.

Department spokesperson Lori Wirth said cigarette butts were found at the scene of several of the fires.

In one of most dramatic examples, five parking islands were on fire when a fire engine arrived to a report of a fire outside of Pet Smart in the 2200 block of East Springs Drive. Crews said the fires appeared to have started on one of the islands and spread to the other islands because of the windy conditions.

Wirth said the department is asking businesses to provide approved receptacles for cigarettes at the entrances to their buildings and to consider replacing decorative mulch with rock or pea gravel.