SMOKE SIGNALS PRESCRIBED FIRE
SEASON
CUSTER, SD: OCTOBER 1, 2008
Forest officials are lighting fires on purpose now so wildfires
next summer will be less destructives and trees will be healthier.
Black Hills National Forest fire management officer Todd Pechota
said prescribed fires help protect lives, property, and living forests
from large killing fires in the summer.
Firefighters are lighting the forest on fire to reduce the severity
and intensity of wildfires by reducing the fuels that feed summer
wildfires. The benefits of burning the forest during cooler periods
of the year are many, Pechota said. Among them are improving forest
health by recycling carbon and nutrients into the soil and controlling
forest insects.
Prescribed fires, so-called because they are only lit after they
meet prescriptions detailing things like weather conditions, wind
speeds, and numbers of firefighters needed for control, also increase
forage for wildlife, like grass and bushes, and improve conditions
for better wildlife habitat.
An unfortunate side effect from the smoke columns that are very
visible to people in Rapid City, especially in the early morning
and late afternoon, is smoke settling in Black Hills communities.
Pechota said the smoke is temporary and does not exceed air quality
limits set by the State of South Dakota and the Environmental Protection
Agency. For example, the highest PM 2.5 air quality rating reached
in Rapid City this morning was 19.5 with 35 being the ceiling. The
numbers continue to drop this afternoon.
“Conditions for dispersing smoke are not very good in the
early morning,” said Todd Pechota, Forest fire management
officer. “Conditions improve in the late morning and early
afternoon, and then decrease in the late afternoon.” Pechota
said firefighters stop burning about 4 pm to allow smoke to disperse
overnight.
Burn Bosses communicate with the National Weather Service throughout
the ignition period to monitor changing conditions, Pechota said.
Firing stops as soon as possible if there are indications the smoke
dispersal forecast will fall to poor.
“We Plan to have firing wrapped up by 4 pm,” Pechota
said. “On site weather forecasts from NWS give us good information
for very specific areas where we are burning.”
“We need public support and understanding for our planned
fires,” he said. “There is no way to burn without smoke
but the smoke now is a much better alternative for the forest and
our communities than smoke in August wildfires.”
Burn bosses and fire managers are highly trained and very experienced
and form the core of wildfire fighters in summer months.
For more information including current photos and video, visit
our website at www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills.
Photo: Beth Steinhauer, Forest Service,
Public Affairs
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