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Public Information Campfires Chain Saw Use Oregon Forestland Urban Interface Fire Protection Act Partners in Fire Protection |
WILDFIRE AWARENESS WEEK IS MAY 4-10 Although it was early June of 2001, I remember the assignment as if it were yesterday. The call came in for a fire team to respond to a forest fire that had already scorched about 700 acres. My responsibility as the fire team’s Information Officer was to communicate the objectives and progress of the suppression activities to the local community and work with the media to take the message regional. The team brought in a couple hundred firefighters, who efficiently put the fire out in about four days. While we achieved our objectives, it was aggravating to know that the fire should have never taken place. Investigators found that the fire had started from an abandoned debris burn pile. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a strong supporter of burning when it’s done properly. But obviously when it’s the number one cause of wildfires in Oregon (273 fires burned 1828 acres in 2007), it seems as though that we’re not being very good stewards of the land. For the fourth consecutive year the Governor has declared the first full week of May Wildfire Awareness Week. This week is set aside each spring to remind everyone that we live in a beautiful, but high fire risk state. Living here comes with a price. And if we’re going to “Keep Oregon Green”, we need to do a better job of acting responsibly. First of all, spring is the perfect time to tidy things up around the perimeter of the home. Removing dead vegetation and limbing up trees is an easy and cost effective means of beautifying your property and reducing the threat of fire. By following a few simple steps to get rid of brush and yard debris, we can all rest a bit easier. In many rural areas, pile burning is a viable way to get rid of 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. Many escaped debris pile burns result from incorrectly selecting or preparing a site for burning, failing to monitor the fire, not having basic fire suppression tools (like a hose and a shovel) close at hand while the pile is burning, and not extinguishing smoldering debris. Choose a site where flames, radiant heat and airborne embers won’t set nearby vegetation on fire. A rule of thumb is to have horizontal clearance that is twice the height of the pile. This fire trail should be scraped to mineral soil to prevent the fire from traveling outside the pile. Then look at vertical clearance, which needs to be at least three times the height of the pile. A burning pile of tree branches will send visible flames several feet into the air above the pile, but the invisible heat influence will go up even higher. Make sure there are no overhanging tree branches and no power lines anywhere above the pile. Make burn piles small. Put the smallest stuff – twigs and the smallest branches – on the bottom of the pile. This is the kindling, which will ignite quickly and burn hot and fast. Don’t put leaves, needles and bark in the kindling part of the pile. These are smoldering fuels and, with some exceptions, will retard the rapid-ignition process. Put these in an adjacent pile so they can be added to the burning pile after a vigorous heat source has been created. It is illegal to burn plastic, tires and just about anything else that isn’t from a tree or shrub. Before burning, check with the local fire district to see whether a burning permit is required. Find out whether the county – or the state – has air quality restrictions in place and, if so, how to find out whether the day on which you want to burn is a legal burn day. Most places in Oregon don’t allow open burning during fire season. Call the local Oregon Department of Forestry or fire protective association office to find out whether fire season is in effect. Before striking the match, make a few final checks. First, never burn on windy days. Run a garden hose to the burn site, then add another 25-50 feet. Put on a nozzle and charge the line. Make sure you can get water all around the burn site and keep the perimeter hosed down during the burning process. Then park a shovel near to where you’ll be working. Finally, have a cell phone handy just in case you need to dial 9-1-1. Taking the time to plan an open burning project 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.
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Forest Activities CS-1 NONE Industrial Fire Precaution Level Descriptions State and National Fire Information
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October 15, 2007 TIME TO PREPARE FOR NEXT FIRE SEASON Now is the perfect time to begin fire proofing your home and property for next summer. By following a few simple steps, you can increase your home's survivability in the event of a wildfire. Click here for more information.
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09/10/07 |
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