Ironically, Our Wet Summer Will Spark Winter Wildfires
By Julie Bisbee, The Oklahoman
Dec. 4–HOBART — The high brush along roadways and around rural homes worries Kiowa County’s emergency manager, as the state enters what are traditionally the driest months.
It’s also the height of wildfire season.
Grass that flourished during Oklahoma’s wet spring and summer has been stunted by freezing temperatures. Now, grass that was once lush has turned brown and turned into perfect kindling. Emergency officials are urging farmers, ranchers and homeowners to cut down brush around their homes and, in some cases, plow around outbuildings to create a firebreak that might save structures during the state’s wildfire season.
“With all the rainfall, the vegetation has grown,” said Stephen Grayson, emergency manager in Kiowa County. “That’s all dying and is supplying a lot of fuel for wildfires.”
Add to that a long-term forecast that calls for a warmer and drier winter than normal, and Oklahoma has the perfect conditions for widespread wildfires.
The risk of wildfires increases with warm temperatures, low humidity and high winds, said Rick Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman.
“Those temperatures and humidity help fuels to be more primed,” Smith said. “High winds help the fire spread rapidly, making it harder to the control those fires. We’re going to be closely watching conditions this year.”
This past weekend, high winds swept over the state, but the front brought with it drizzle and moisture, Smith said.
In previous years, however, Oklahoma pastures were in flames as early as November.
Between November 2005 and March 2006, wildfires killed four people, destroyed 300 homes and scorched 550,000 acres, said Michelann Ooten, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Spotty wildfires were reported last winter, but officials warn that ample rains this year could make the state a tinderbox if property owners are careless.
“Between now and spring, we’re going to see grass fires start increasing because the grass has become dormant,” Grayson said. “With the winds that we usually have on any given day in southwest Oklahoma, it adds to the problem and helps spread those fires.”
Grass fires have already popped up across the state, including Comanche County. Those fires, however, haven’t been damaging or deadly.
Property owners can decrease their risk for wildfires by mowing down vegetation surrounding their homes or outbuildings, said Jack Carson, spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
Carson also suggests cleaning leaves out of gutters and removing them from under decks and porches.
“Decks and gutters that are full of fuel make it real hard to defend that home from fire,” Carson said.
“It’s one of those things that we have to remind people of every year.”
—–
To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Oklahoman
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.