Wednesday, October 8, 1997
Forest Service warns of autumn fires
By BOB BRUCE
and BETH HALLMARK
Abilene Reporter-News
West Texas' autumn drought has Texas Forest Service officials
worried that freezing weather may arrive before it rains, creating
an even worse range fire threat.
"Certainly it's one of the drier falls we've seen in recent
years," said the Forest Service's Mark Stanford in Lufkin.
The Abilene area has the potential for "extreme fire behavior,"
he said.
Last week, with humidity down and the wind blowing, fires flared
in several Abilene area counties including Throckmorton, Palo
Pinto, Erath, Nolan and Fisher.
Numerous other counties have banned rural burning, including
Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Knox, Mills, Nolan, Shackelford
and Taylor.
Taylor County's burn ban was imposed Tuesday by county commissioners.
Though dark clouds over the area the past few days have promised
showers, it would take a downpour of about 2-3 inches of rain
to significantly reduce the fire hazard, said Gary Young of the
Taylor County rural fire department committee.
"We need to get some moisture back in the ground,"
Young told Taylor County commissioners. "The effects of scattered
showers would only last a short time."
Conditions are ripe for fire, Stanford said, with abundant
vegetation from early rains, followed by a drought that began
in June, heat-curing the grass and brush.
And if rains are light or non-existent before the first killing
freeze occurs, then the ground cover would be freeze-cured as
well, with flames easily spread by dry cold fronts, Stanford said.
"We call wind the engine that drives the fire," said
Stanford, who heads the Forest Service's rural fire defense section.
"We run the programs for volunteer fire departments,"
he said.
Stanford cited the Keech-Byrum drought index, an indicator
of moisture in the soil down to a depth of 8 inches.
An index of 600 means a problem exists while a reading of 700
indicates a potential for extreme fire behavior, according to
Stanford.
"Across North Texas and Central Texas it's 700 plus right
now," Stanford said.
The Texas Forest Service has been using the index for about
10 years.
"It's the most accurate we've found for drought indicators,"
he said.
Mahlon Hammetter, fire prevention specialist for the Texas
Forest Service, said fall means more outdoor activity, increasing
the chances for fire.
"You have a greater potential for carelessness with campfires
and smoking materials. A lot of preparations are under way for
deer camps. Leaves are dropping, too, so you have leaf burning,"
Hammetter said.
Hammetter said the Forest Service advises that all outdoor
burning be postponed until significant rainfall is received.
The Taylor County ban outlaws outdoor burning, except in enclosed
containers that can contain flames and sparks. The ban remains
in effect until conditions improve.
But Merkel High School likely will still be allowed to hold
its annual homecoming bonfire later this month.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Don Dudley brought up the issue of
the planned bonfire and the effect the ban would have on the traditional
event.
In response, commissioners included a provision in the ban
giving the county judge authority to grant exemptions.
Hamilton said he would talk with local fire chiefs before making
any decisions in such cases.
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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