Pa Forest Fire Wardens Assoc. District 17

Reminder there is a work detail scheduled for Sunday May 5 8a to 11A at the Fire Tower Cabin, than the regulaly scheduled meeting for the association will occur.

Projects to be completed:

yard clean up, dead branch pruning

small room to be finished with wall ceiling painting

fire tower cab to be cleaned out, windows glazed, loose paint scraped on walls and map table

fire tower fence barbed wire post needs reset in place

Due to the heightened threat of wildfires in the area, homeowners that live in a wooded setting or in areas that are susceptible to wildfires are urged to create a defensible space around your home. Many homeowners are complaisant to wildfire risks and have the mind set that it will not happen here. The large wildfire at Hopewell proves that it can happen here in "Our Backyard"and homeowners do need to to be prepared

For those who are not in an area where a burn ban is in effect and who must burn please follow these tips to safely complete your burn, just remember if you controlled burn escapes you can be held liable for suppresion costs and damages that the fire causes.

In many rural areas, pile burning and burn barrels are viable ways to get rid of vegetation debris – tree branches, brush cuttings, needles, and leaves. And with proper site preparation and forethought, people can burn this sort of debris with reasonable safety.
 
Taking the time to plan an open burning project, preparing the burn site, and equipping yourself with basic fire suppression tools before lighting the match will dramatically reduce the chance of a burn pile fire getting out of control and becoming a 911 call.
 
Following are seven simple tips to help ensure you have a safe and effective debris burn.

April 13, 2012
Subject: Fuel conditions/elevated significant fire potential across portions of the Eastern Area
Discussion:

Mid-Atlantic: Below normal precipitation and soil moisture anomalies were in place across portions of the southern and eastern Mid-Atlantic States in early April. These anomalies along with a much warmer than normal start to the spring season dropped pine needle moistures to below normal levels in the pine barren areas and also led to below normal 1-, 10-, and 100-hour fuels. Extreme fire behavior and elevated significant fire potential is likely to remain in place across drier portions of the compact until more frequent, wetting rainfall is received and green-up is complete.

Outlook: While a shift to an overall wetter weather pattern across the Eastern Area is anticipated by mid-April, not all of the areas of concern will receive significant, wetting precipitation and any periods of dry and windy weather will lead to increased fire potential prior to full green-up.
Concerns to Firefighters and the Public:

Anticipate increased potential for peat fires and prolonged mop-up across parts of the Great Lakes.

Anticipate crown fire activity where needle moistures have dropped below 100% in conifer stands.

Anticipate any ignition in flashy fine fuels to burn readily and move rapidly.

Mitigation Measures:

Make certain firefighters have good anchor points and keep one foot in the black.

Ensure LCES is in place on every fire before engaging. Lookouts should have a good understanding of the effects of weather changes and topography on fire behavior.

Area of Concern: Portions of the Great Lakes, northern Big Rivers, southern and eastern Mid-Atlantic States, and southern New England.

Hopewell Fire
District 17
April 13, 2012

Wildland Fire Crews made significant progress yesterday and last night in constructing secure containment lines on the Hopewell Fire.  Crews yesterday were able to lay over 4000 feet of 1 ½ inch water hose line along the containment line in the area of St Peters Road.  These hose lines also had smaller side laterals branching off from it every 200 feet to supply water to hand crews conducting the burn out operations.  Once the burn out operations were completed, crews returned to mop up, an activity that ensures all hot spots burning near the control line are extinguished.  The smoke plume from these operations was visible to many residents, which prompted calls to local 911 call centers.