Historic Tamarack Lodge in New York State burns
Approximately 30 structures at the Historic Tamarack Lodge near Wawarsing, New York, were destroyed in a fire on Saturday. It was not clear how or where the fire started, but in addition to the buildings, 200 acres burned. Most of the structures had been abandoned and condemned by building inspectors.
More information about the fire.
Colorado: don’t give up on prescribed fires
Barry Noreen in an article in the Colorado Springs Gazette suggests that in spite of the escaped prescribed fire that became the Lower North Fork fire which killed three residents, this is not the time to abandon the idea of treating vegetation with fire. Here is an excerpt:
…But Steve Segin, a spokesman for the United States Forest Service in Lakewood, said “there’s plenty of success stories” with prescribed burns, but as in anything, we tend not to hear about programs when they are working well.
Segin pointed out that when the infamous Hayman fire took off in June of 2002, one of the few places it slowed down was on a ridgeline where there had been a controlled burn previously. The controlled burn removed potential fuel, so when the Hayman fire came through, it slowed down because there just wasn’t enough material to burn.
Fire near Lake City, Florida
The Columbia Line fire on the Osceola National Forest near Lake City, Florida has burned approximately 4,570 acres. The USFS said three helicopters are dropping water on the fire but no structures or private property are currently threatened.
10’s
1.Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts.
2.Know what your fire is doing at all times.
Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire.
18’s
4. Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior.
14. Weather is getting hotter and drier.
15. Wind increases and/or changes direction.
What is in prescription today, may not be tomorrow… on the upper or lower end…. I doubt that they were out of prescription on the day the fire was lit. I really don’t know of anyone that would risk that; especially on the high end. But who knows. As for a 5-7 day forecast…. Doesn’t mean you can’t light, right? just means that if you do, there will be higher cost to ensure containment, as a 5-7 day forecast becomes a more accurate 3-5 day forecast….. Who makes that decision? I’m sure we all know the answer to that…. So the question is, does Rx fire work? Yep. Is it a good thing for the forest and grasslands? Yep. But it takes more than a drip torch. If you are going to put flame to fuel, you’d better be ready to make sure (monetarily) that we can be assured it poses no threat to anything outside of that unit…. including homes and lives.
Rather than dwell on what conditions were when the fire blew out, it’s more important, in my opinion, to look back at what conditions the prescription called for and what the longer (5-7 day) forecast predicted. If things looked OK when ignition occurred and the WX forecast did not predict high winds a few days later, then we’re enjoying the benefits of 20-20 hindsight. If however, the burning conditions were out of prescription or the high winds were forecast, it’s time for some accountability. There are times when prescribed urning must occur at the high end of the prescription envelope, and when mechanical treatments do not meet the resource objective (besides fuel reduction).
While Mr Noreen speaks the truth…
Some commenters in the article have commented….
Unusual drought conditions, 14% RH, high winds, I may add…1 week ++ of Red Flag conditions / warnings..
You know …justifications to keep RX fire going all season, huh?
We foresters get the idea for fire as a cheeeeeeper method of land clearing…..there is a few of us with a “little common sense” with the current past conditions to see what October would bring.
There is also a few of us foresters that realize land clearing ops, mechanically, in these conditions, are ripe enough to do the very same…even with 1300LCL hoot owl restrictions.
Whether it’s academic or not, and while mentioning the wind down for spring RX burns and suppression season coming up, the taxpayer in CO is going to want some answers and accountability for the common sense that is not so common nowadays even with NWS and WFO spot forecast available
Like Flight Service say say to us VFR pilots once n while when we get our pre flight and flight weather briefings…….in bad weather “VFR Not recommended.”
MAYBE the NWS has to say to all land management agencies….in the same vain….. Ignition / “touching one off” NOT recommended.
THEN the onus is on YOU to fly or not!!
Then the onus is on the land management agencies to ignite or not.
See how that works? When some issues one an advisory, then it is incumbent on the individual / organization to take individual responsibility for the outcome…flying or burning