The rain Monday night was a welcomed gift for fire crews throughout Cleburne County. Every fire department in the county fought blazes over the weekend when low humidity and windy conditions caught many residents off-guard while burning yard debris.
Fires over the weekend burned grass and woods, putting several structures in danger. A fire Monday in the Pine Snag/ Lobo Fire District burned several acres, a storage building, and a small travel trailer.
As of press time Tuesday, Cleburne County was not under a burn ban. “I had been thinking about issuing a burning ban for the entire county, but since rain was in the forecast Monday, I held off,” said Claude Dill, Cleburne County judge. “With the nice weather, residents are clearing brush and yard debris, but with the lower humidity, the air is dry and the ground is dry. This allows fires to get away from residents quickly.”
Dill has a few suggestions if someone must burn. “They need to burn later in the day, around sunset or later because the wind is a little more calm and there’s more moisture in the air.
Dill has a few suggestions if someone must burn. “They need to burn later in the day, around sunset or later because the wind is a little more calm and there’s more moisture in the air.
“They also need to have an area around where they intend to burn to keep the fire contained. Plow around the fire area to make sure nothing else catches. They also need to keep a water hose accessible in case they need to douse any small fires that get out of the fire ring.”
As previously reported, residents of the city of Heber Springs are not allowed to burn after dark. Officers can write tickets to offenders.
The Sun-Times spoke to a few fire chiefs in the county and they all concur with Dill. “We would prefer residents not to burn until the humidity comes up,” said Michael Courtney, Pine Snag/ Lobo fire chief. “If there’s not a burn ban in effect, we can’t tell them not to burn, but it sure would be helpful if residents would not burn until moisture is back in the air.”
The Arkansas Forestry Commission reported their personnel responded to 128 fires throughout the state over the weekend that burned 3,123 acres. AFC crews were called to at least two fires in Cleburne County Monday.
According to an AFC press release, single engine air tankers (SEATs) made 42 water drops across Arkansas Saturday and Sunday. County Judges in Faulkner, Greene and Van Buren Counties have issued burn bans, and more than two-thirds of the state is experiencing moderate wildfire danger conditions.
“Our crews were at their limits,” said Marc Phillips, District 8 Forester. AFC District 8 covers Fulton, Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Randolph and Sharp counties.
According to Phillips, a number of landowners were taking advantage of the nice weather to conduct burns on their property to clear away unwanted debris when winds shifted. “The sheer volume of burning going on increased the chances a fire could get out,” Phillips said.
District 8 covers six of 30 counties with an increased wildfire hazard as a result of an ice storm. Phillips said the amount of debris on the ground and limbs hanging in trees has made constructing fire lane more difficult. “It can double or triple the time to get a line around the fire.”
“We anticipate suppression issues over the next couple of years,” Don McBride, Assistant State Forester-Protection said regarding the increased hazards in ice storm damaged areas.
AFC is using an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) grant awarded through the US Forest Service to address the increased wildfire risk by purchasing new dozers and staging two 802 SEATs in northern Arkansas – one in Harrison and one in Batesville. 802 single engine air tankers (SEATs) provided by Western Pilot Service can carry up to 800 gallons of water, and are used in addition to the efforts of firefighters on the ground to contain wildfires.
For more information about current wildfire conditions in Arkansas, visit www.arkfireinfo.org. To report a wildfire, call 1-800-468-8834.
For information about how ARRA funds are being used in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Office of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act web site atwww.recovery.arkansas.gov.
Cleburne County, Ark. —
