Post by SIERRA 14 on Mar 31, 2006 8:03:14 GMT -5
By CHERYL R. CLARKE cclarke@sungazette.com
WELLSBORO — Tioga County faces the possibility of an unusually bad fire season, according to Roy Siefert, Tioga District forester at the Bureau of Forestry.
On Thursday, Siefert asked the county commissioners to impose a temporary countywide burn ban.
Instead the commissioners voted to ask for a voluntary ban on open fires and hope that people don’t continue to burn trash and brush.
Wildfires have spread around the county in the past several days. Five more broke out Thursday following the meeting: one at Stony Fork Creek Campground; another off Route 362 in Delmar Township; one in Richmond Township near Mansfield; one near Osceola; and one that started in New York and spread to near Daggett.
“I’m not one to cry wolf,” Siefert said, “but we are at levels normally seen the end of May, and the moisture level in the woods is at levels we’ve never seen this time of year. We have a long fire season ahead of us.”
He said in a written request that he had “canvassed several fire chiefs, and we have the support of 13 to impose a temporary countywide ban on open burning.”
Even with the possibility of rain this weekend, Seifert said, because there has been little snow pack and little rain over the past month to moisten the ground, and the rain expected to fall this weekend is not anticipated to do much to alleviate the “tinder dry” condition of the dead brush and grass from last year.
“There is a danger there because the amount expected is minimal, and it won’t affect the fuel moisture in the forests but it will give people the impression that it’s OK to burn. We need a prolonged rain event of several days to make any difference,” he said.
Commissioner Erick Coolidge was reluctant to impose a mandatory ban, because of a burn ban that had been imposed several years ago that had “not worked out well.”
“That would give us time for a public comment period as well,” said Commissioner M. Sue Vogler.
Coolidge noted that although commissioners didn’t want to ignore the fire chiefs, “it is a difficult call.”
“People will ignore the voluntary ban, plain and simple. We may have to do something as a board and it will cost someone a lot of money, but on the other hand, it could be my home or your home or property next,” Coolidge said.
Vogler said that careless burning can also put firefighters at risk and take them away from businesses and their day jobs.
“It’s a double-edged sword because if there are fires that occur and the origin was found to be trash burning, they (the culprits) are fined and there can be a lot of public outcry,” she added.
The Forestry Bureau will contact the commissioners after this weekend and early next week, when rain is expected, if a mandatory ban is still recommended. If so, a special meeting will be called to discuss and possibly impose a temporary ban, which could last up to 30 days, she said.
According to the most recent figures, in Tioga and Potter counties combined, there have been more than two dozen wild fires since the first of the year, emergency services deputy coordinator David Cohick said.
“There were five Wednesday, one Tuesday, three on the 27th, two on the 26th and two on the 23rd,” he said. “Nineteen since the first of the month.”
Compared to last year, Cohick said, there were 99 wildfires during the entire year.
“In April of last year we had 52,” he said.
Cohick said that if wildfires continue to increase there will definitely be a ban, “but even if they did it today it is still 48 hours before it becomes effective,” and even then, people may not pay attention.
“People are often careless, and often don’t cover their burner barrels,” he added.
Mansfield Fire Chief Jim Welch concurred, and spoke briefly by phone about today’s fire on Canoe Camp Creek Road.
“Today we had several round hay bales involved, and the only real way to put them out is to unroll them. Otherwise you can’t put the fire out, and it is time consuming,” he said.
It took about a dozen firefighters 90 minutes to extinguish the fire.
“Without significant snowfall, everything is extra dry and it will be a really busy season if people don’t stop burning,” he said.
WELLSBORO — Tioga County faces the possibility of an unusually bad fire season, according to Roy Siefert, Tioga District forester at the Bureau of Forestry.
On Thursday, Siefert asked the county commissioners to impose a temporary countywide burn ban.
Instead the commissioners voted to ask for a voluntary ban on open fires and hope that people don’t continue to burn trash and brush.
Wildfires have spread around the county in the past several days. Five more broke out Thursday following the meeting: one at Stony Fork Creek Campground; another off Route 362 in Delmar Township; one in Richmond Township near Mansfield; one near Osceola; and one that started in New York and spread to near Daggett.
“I’m not one to cry wolf,” Siefert said, “but we are at levels normally seen the end of May, and the moisture level in the woods is at levels we’ve never seen this time of year. We have a long fire season ahead of us.”
He said in a written request that he had “canvassed several fire chiefs, and we have the support of 13 to impose a temporary countywide ban on open burning.”
Even with the possibility of rain this weekend, Seifert said, because there has been little snow pack and little rain over the past month to moisten the ground, and the rain expected to fall this weekend is not anticipated to do much to alleviate the “tinder dry” condition of the dead brush and grass from last year.
“There is a danger there because the amount expected is minimal, and it won’t affect the fuel moisture in the forests but it will give people the impression that it’s OK to burn. We need a prolonged rain event of several days to make any difference,” he said.
Commissioner Erick Coolidge was reluctant to impose a mandatory ban, because of a burn ban that had been imposed several years ago that had “not worked out well.”
“That would give us time for a public comment period as well,” said Commissioner M. Sue Vogler.
Coolidge noted that although commissioners didn’t want to ignore the fire chiefs, “it is a difficult call.”
“People will ignore the voluntary ban, plain and simple. We may have to do something as a board and it will cost someone a lot of money, but on the other hand, it could be my home or your home or property next,” Coolidge said.
Vogler said that careless burning can also put firefighters at risk and take them away from businesses and their day jobs.
“It’s a double-edged sword because if there are fires that occur and the origin was found to be trash burning, they (the culprits) are fined and there can be a lot of public outcry,” she added.
The Forestry Bureau will contact the commissioners after this weekend and early next week, when rain is expected, if a mandatory ban is still recommended. If so, a special meeting will be called to discuss and possibly impose a temporary ban, which could last up to 30 days, she said.
According to the most recent figures, in Tioga and Potter counties combined, there have been more than two dozen wild fires since the first of the year, emergency services deputy coordinator David Cohick said.
“There were five Wednesday, one Tuesday, three on the 27th, two on the 26th and two on the 23rd,” he said. “Nineteen since the first of the month.”
Compared to last year, Cohick said, there were 99 wildfires during the entire year.
“In April of last year we had 52,” he said.
Cohick said that if wildfires continue to increase there will definitely be a ban, “but even if they did it today it is still 48 hours before it becomes effective,” and even then, people may not pay attention.
“People are often careless, and often don’t cover their burner barrels,” he added.
Mansfield Fire Chief Jim Welch concurred, and spoke briefly by phone about today’s fire on Canoe Camp Creek Road.
“Today we had several round hay bales involved, and the only real way to put them out is to unroll them. Otherwise you can’t put the fire out, and it is time consuming,” he said.
It took about a dozen firefighters 90 minutes to extinguish the fire.
“Without significant snowfall, everything is extra dry and it will be a really busy season if people don’t stop burning,” he said.