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Rains May Not Be Enough to Dampen Fire Potential
By
Terri McLean
LEXINGTON, Ky., (Oct. 25, 2006) – Despite above normal rainfall
amounts across Kentucky in recent weeks, a buildup of debris on
the forest floor is fueling concern about the potential for
forest fires through the remainder of the fall fire season.
“It’s been five years since we have had a major forest fire
event,” said Doug McLaren, forestry specialist with the
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. “The buildup of
forest fuels over time can cause real problems. It takes very
little sunlight and very little wind for them to dry out.”
The greatest potential for forest fires will be in November,
typically the driest part of the year. It’s also “when we have
all the new leaves on the ground and solar radiation can get to
the ground without being impeded by leaves on the trees.”
McLaren said.
The hope, he said, is that consistent rainfall patterns continue
to lessen the chances for fires to get started.
“The reason we haven’t had a major fire event in five years is
due to the simple fact that we’ve had this rain consistency,” he
said. “That is, every time it would start to get dry we would
have another rain occurrence. It’s happened both in the spring
and the fall the last five years.”
Although it’s been some time since a major forest fire in
Kentucky, there have been many small fires. Already this year,
about 1,400 fires are responsible for burning nearly 43,000
acres, according to the Kentucky Division of Forestry.
The most vulnerable time for these fires is in the spring, from
Feb. 15 through April 30, and in the fall, from Oct. 1 through
Dec. 31. They are most likely to occur in eastern Kentucky,
where the majority of the state’s woodlands are located. It’s
also the area with a high rate of arson, which is the cause of
most forest fires in the state, McLaren said.
Human carelessness is also a major cause of forest fires in
Kentucky, he added.
“I think 99.9 percent of fires in Kentucky originate with
people. And that’s either from pure arson or from people who are
burning and not paying attention to what they’re doing and let
the fires get away from them, whether it’s burning a field or
burning rubbish in the backyard.”
Although many trees do not die after a fire, openings are
created in the base of the trees which provide entrances for
insects and disease, McLaren said. Some stands of timber will
never be harvested, even though the trees are large, because of
the large amount of rot and decay that has been initiated by
fires from previous years.
“With each fire is the loss of potential value of the timber the
fire affects,” he said.
There are burning restrictions in place to help prevent forest
fires. During fire season, all outdoor burning is banned between
6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Otherwise, fires should be located at least
150 feet from a forested area and brushlands. In addition, all
open burning should be done in a common sense manner. People
should stay with their fires to keep them from getting out of
control.
“If a fire does get out of control and it points to an
individual person, that person will have to pay for all the
suppression costs for that fire, whether it’s one acre or
thousands upon thousands of acres,” McLaren said. |
Contact: Doug McLaren, 859-257-2703 |
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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