| Fire Prevention Week - Day 3 |
| Wednesday, 08 October 2008 11:06 |
|
Fire Weather/Fire Prevention Awareness Week
continues today with a look at drought and its
effects on wildfires.
Climatic conditions, such as long term drought,
play a major role in the number and intensity of
wildfires. During the summer and fall of 1999,
2000, and 2001, Kentucky experienced prolonged dry
conditions. The lack of rainfall, in conjunction
with very warm temperatures, allowed the forest
fuels, such as dead leaves, trees and branches,
to become unusually dry.
The dry forest fuels were very susceptible to
fire, especially when daytime relative humidities
were low and wind speeds were high. Across the
commonwealth, the number of wildfires reported
during 1999, 2000, and 2001 was unusually high
with over 130,000 acres burned during each of
those years.
Much of Kentucky, including all of eastern
Kentucky, is currently mired in a moderate to
severe drought, as compared to extreme to
exceptional drought status of a year ago. Both
the London Corbin Airport and the Jackson
National Weather Service Office ended the month
of September with a rainfall deficit. In fact,
September 2008 was the driest September on record
at London and the second driest on record at
Jackson. Wetter than normal conditions have
been experienced in only two months so far this
year at Jackson and London, April and July.
However, for the year through October 6th,
the rainfall deficit at Jackson was 9.29 inches,
while it was 10.34 inches at London and both deficits
are continuing to climb. In general, the largest
deficits are along and south of the Mountain
Parkway, especially in locations closer to the
Tennessee border, while deficits are smaller
north of the Mountain Parkway and close to the
Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. Conditions are
driest along the Tennessee border, or in the
severe drought area with Monticello experiencing
a rainfall deficit as of the morning of October 7th
of 12.01 inches.
Current trends and long range outlooks indicate
that near normal precipitation should occur for
the remainder of the month. The long range outlook
for the rest of October through December 2008,
issued by the Climate Prediction Center, indicates
a pattern conducive for near normal temperatures
and precipitation across eastern Kentucky. Based
on this forecast, drought conditions should at least
persist in some form or another through the remainder
of the year. The best possibility for significant
improvement would come from the remnants of a
landfalling tropical system, however, the probability
of this occurring is lessening with time, as the
peak of the Atlantic Tropical Season has come and
gone.
With this in mind, it is important to be alert
to the increased threat of wildfires during drought
conditions, especially for those whose homes are
in forested areas, or those who plan to visit area
forests.
As of October 2nd, the following counties had
enacted local burning bans: Bath, Fleming, Floyd,
Johnson, Magoffin, Martin, Pike, and Rowan. Those
wanting to conduct outdoor burning should contact
your local County Judge/Executive or the Kentucky
Division of Forestry for more information. To
report violations, call the Kentucky State Police,
local law enforcement officials or the Target Arson
Hotline at 1-800-27-ARSON, that is 1-800-272-7766.
The following are some safety tips to help protect
life and property from wildfires.
1. Check with local fire authorities or public
land management officials to obtain current
fire restriction information.
2. When building camp fires, clear the camp fire
site down to bare soil. Circle the fire pit
with rocks. Build the camp fire away from
overhanging branches, dry grass, pine needles,
logs and steep slopes.
3. Never leave a camp fire unattended. When putting
out a camp fire, drown the fire. Keep a bucket
and shovel nearby.
4. Homes near forest areas should have trees
thinned 100 feet from buildings. Remove lower
tree branches, especially those that may
overhang the roof.
5. Rake and clear surface fuels, such as leaves,
limbs and pine needles, away from homes in
wooded areas. For detailed information on
protecting your home from wildfires, visit
the Firewise website at www.firewise.org.
The next topic during Fire Weather/Fire
Prevention Awareness Week will be Red Flag
Warnings and extreme fire weather conditions.
__________
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