A man that didn't evacuate they're saying. Today's conditions won't help anything........air support today will help.
There are laws and regulations that most don't know about for controlled burning.
If you are in a city or county that has no fire marshal, the state fire marshal has authority. The state fire marshal does not issue permits, but can advise about how and when to properly burn.
There are also laws and regulations in place that are enforced by the State Department of Enviromental Quality (Air Quality Division). With their regulations, you can only burn in certain situations and requirements of distance from other structures, wind speed, and time of day apply. The DEQ can go to the place where the fire originated and there are some pretty hefty fines involved.
That's part of the rules from DEQ. Winds have to be at a certain speed or lower before legal burning can take place. DEQ sits so far in the background that few people know about the laws and regs, much less the agency itself.
Yep, I have never heard of the DEQ doing anything about vegetation fires. I have seen them at fires with chemicals etc. involved. DEQ has also made it extremely difficult or stopped a fire department from burning an old house for training purposes.
I call the local fire house and tell them before I do any burning but all I ever burn is fallen tree branches and brush piles. When I first moved out here I called and asked about burning, was told to call first and no burning if the wind is over 10 MPH. Made sense to me and have always stuck to it. Hard to believe someone would even think it's OK to burn with 15 to 20 MPH winds much less 35 like we have been getting.
Hate mowing when the wind is blowing like it is but seeing the news makes we want to get out and cut grass.
Hate mowing when the wind is blowing like it is but seeing the news makes we want to get out and cut grass.
Short grass in high fire conditions is a good thing. Lots easier to put out with a garden hose near your house. I was watching live coverage on channel 5 last night and this guy was keeping his trailer safe with a garden hose he had cut his grass short while the neighboring property grass was 2-3 feet high. As soon as the fire reached the short grass, it died down and it was easily put out with the garden hose.
Danger here is if it is a water well and electricity goes out, you are effed. But, you are right every house should have a safe zone of low fuel conditions for safety. I know one guy that is bordered on 3 sides by CRP and he usually discs a swath all the way around the perimeter of his property.
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