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Don’t get burned
Residents warned of ‘controlled’ burn danger with dry conditions, poor judgement blamed for recent surge of fires throughout area
By Wayne Hardy
Multiple fires Monday near Highway 32 east of Patterson and just outside of Hoboken should remind residents conditions are still dangerous for “controlled” burns, fire officials say.
Officials of both Pierce County and the City of Blackshear are urging the community to check with authorities before lighting up. It’s the time of year when small backyard burns erupt into big headaches for firefighters.
“We’ve been eat up by them,” say Ken Justice, county fire coordinator.
He estimates county stations have responded to 20-30 fires in the past 10 days. About 5-7 of those have required more than an hour to get under control.
Recent showers the end of last week haven’t significantly improved dry and potentially dangerous conditions.
“A tenth of an inch like we got the other day doesn’t do muchgood,” Justice says. “Now is not the time to be burning.”
Every call costs the department money and stretches resources, especially in case of simultaneous calls, Justice says.
Forest fires aren’t the only concern, either. Dry grass in someone’s back yard can require hours of fire suppression even if the property owner quits watching for only a minute or so.
“(Fire) just doesn’t burn with grass, it runs across the yard,” Justice says.
Anyone wishing to start a controlled fire, no matter how small, must request a burn permit to ensure conditions are acceptable at the time. That’s the rule any time, not only for dry weather.
“About 90 percent of out of control fires comes from people burning illegal fires,” Justice says.
Even with a permitted burn, Justice says caution is necessary to prevent problems.
Blackshear firefighters are also heading to calls at an increased rate.
“We’ve had five incidents in the past two weeks where people burning illegally led to the fire department having to respond,” says Blackshear Fire Chief Chris Wright.
Incidents regularly begin from property owners who merely think their debris pile is under control.
“If you have a small pile burning and the wind catches it, it can take the fire into weeds and brush and lead it to spread,” Wright says.
He also notes the city is more restrictive about when it deems conditions ready to burn, due to a greater concentration of homes, businesses and structures that can be threatened by a fire outbreak and massive smoke clouds.
Both Justice and Wright say most non-permitted burns involve illegal materials. State law only allows for natural vegetation to be burned. In some cases, fire officials have found property owners burning mattresses, recliners, televisions, tires and household trash.
The Georgia Forestry Commission is also being taxed with waves of fire suppression efforts, often bringing heavy machinery to create fire breaks to help contain a blaze. Officials warn dry conditions are likely to last.
“We’re in a La Nina weather system, which means that the weather is dry now and will more than likely stay dry for the immediate future,” GFC District Manager Frank Sorrells said in a statement last week after an outbreak of numerous fires.
“We are asking local citizens to help us get through this active fire season,” Sorrells pleaded. “Safety is our primary concern when conditions are conducive to wildfires. We need people to get a permit before doing any burning. If we aren’t issuing permits, please understand that we have your safety in mind when making those decisions. “
To check for a burn permit in the county, call the Georgia Forestry Commission office in Patterson at 647-5471. To obtain one in Blackshear, call 449-7011.
Forestry officials were on site into the evening Monday and Tuesday morning dealing with a fire that reportedly covered a few dozen acres off Highway 32 near Claude Road. Attempts at getting a report on the blaze Tuesday morning were unsuccessful. Justice said Pierce County stations were assisting fire suppression efforts, but deferred to the GFC for an official report.
Read more top stories available in the March 2, 2011 edition of The Blackshear Times(Subscribers click here to log in and read the entire paper online.)
• ‘HOPE’ left for Pre-k?
• Not a one-trick pony
• City downtown market returns this Saturday!
• New clinic coming to Blackshear
• It’s free, but most are missing out
• Building a better workforce
Officials of both Pierce County and the City of Blackshear are urging the community to check with authorities before lighting up. It’s the time of year when small backyard burns erupt into big headaches for firefighters.
“We’ve been eat up by them,” say Ken Justice, county fire coordinator.
He estimates county stations have responded to 20-30 fires in the past 10 days. About 5-7 of those have required more than an hour to get under control.
Recent showers the end of last week haven’t significantly improved dry and potentially dangerous conditions.
“A tenth of an inch like we got the other day doesn’t do muchgood,” Justice says. “Now is not the time to be burning.”
Every call costs the department money and stretches resources, especially in case of simultaneous calls, Justice says.
Forest fires aren’t the only concern, either. Dry grass in someone’s back yard can require hours of fire suppression even if the property owner quits watching for only a minute or so.
“(Fire) just doesn’t burn with grass, it runs across the yard,” Justice says.
Anyone wishing to start a controlled fire, no matter how small, must request a burn permit to ensure conditions are acceptable at the time. That’s the rule any time, not only for dry weather.
“About 90 percent of out of control fires comes from people burning illegal fires,” Justice says.
Even with a permitted burn, Justice says caution is necessary to prevent problems.
Blackshear firefighters are also heading to calls at an increased rate.
“We’ve had five incidents in the past two weeks where people burning illegally led to the fire department having to respond,” says Blackshear Fire Chief Chris Wright.
Incidents regularly begin from property owners who merely think their debris pile is under control.
“If you have a small pile burning and the wind catches it, it can take the fire into weeds and brush and lead it to spread,” Wright says.
He also notes the city is more restrictive about when it deems conditions ready to burn, due to a greater concentration of homes, businesses and structures that can be threatened by a fire outbreak and massive smoke clouds.
Both Justice and Wright say most non-permitted burns involve illegal materials. State law only allows for natural vegetation to be burned. In some cases, fire officials have found property owners burning mattresses, recliners, televisions, tires and household trash.
The Georgia Forestry Commission is also being taxed with waves of fire suppression efforts, often bringing heavy machinery to create fire breaks to help contain a blaze. Officials warn dry conditions are likely to last.
“We’re in a La Nina weather system, which means that the weather is dry now and will more than likely stay dry for the immediate future,” GFC District Manager Frank Sorrells said in a statement last week after an outbreak of numerous fires.
“We are asking local citizens to help us get through this active fire season,” Sorrells pleaded. “Safety is our primary concern when conditions are conducive to wildfires. We need people to get a permit before doing any burning. If we aren’t issuing permits, please understand that we have your safety in mind when making those decisions. “
To check for a burn permit in the county, call the Georgia Forestry Commission office in Patterson at 647-5471. To obtain one in Blackshear, call 449-7011.
Forestry officials were on site into the evening Monday and Tuesday morning dealing with a fire that reportedly covered a few dozen acres off Highway 32 near Claude Road. Attempts at getting a report on the blaze Tuesday morning were unsuccessful. Justice said Pierce County stations were assisting fire suppression efforts, but deferred to the GFC for an official report.
Read more top stories available in the March 2, 2011 edition of The Blackshear Times(Subscribers click here to log in and read the entire paper online.)
• ‘HOPE’ left for Pre-k?
• Not a one-trick pony
• City downtown market returns this Saturday!
• New clinic coming to Blackshear
• It’s free, but most are missing out
• Building a better workforce
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