Warnings Issued for Wildfire Conditions in Pa.

The snow shovels and road salt have barely been locked away until next winter, yet emergency crews in Pennsylvania are already responding to the potential hazards of the spring season.

According to a spokesperson with Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the state has already experienced 200 wildfires since January, meaning the loss of approximately 500 acres of open land. Two deaths are also attributed to brush fires in Pennsylvania, including a 72-year-old woman killed by a fire in Lower Saucon, according to Lehigh Valley Live.

“We have been seeing sunny, windy and dry days,” said Terry Brady, deputy press secretary for the DCNR. “All of that contributes to wildfire conditions. All it takes is for one burning ember to get caught in the wind and hit some dry grass.”

It’s those conditions that have the National Weather Service issuing a special weather advisory for the southeastern region of Pennsylvania. Two fires were reported Wednesday in the Philadelphia area, including a small blaze in northeast Philadelphia and a trash burn at a farm on Buckingham Mountain in Bucks County that took out three acres. Thick, black smoke from the fire could be seen for miles, and fortunately no injuries were reported.

With the opening of Pennsylvania’s trout season this weekend, Brady urges fishers and campers headed for the great outdoors to use extra precaution, not only for the sake of the state’s natural resources, but also their own wallets.

“If we find that someone is responsible for a wildfire, we will go after restitution for the resources used to fight that fire,” Brady said. “We don’t typically have the raging infernos you see out west, but they can get pretty big, with hundreds of volunteer firefighters, equipment, aircraft.”

Open fires are forbidden on state forestland from March 1 through May 25, and when the fire danger is listed as high, very high or extreme, according to the DCNR.

The department has provided some guidelines for tending to open fires:

• Clear the area around the fire prior to starting it;
• Keep the fire small and never leave it unattended;
• Before you strike a campfire match, first consider if it is too warm, dry or windy for a fire and if the surrounding area is free of leaves and other combustibles;
• Make sure there is a ready source of water (bucket or hose) nearby and a rake to extinguish any embers that might escape; and
• When you are done with the fire put it out with water until all ashes are cold to the touch.

Nearly 10,000 acres of state and private woodlands are burned by wildfires each year, the DCNR says, and nearly 85 percent of all fires in Pennsylvania woodlands occur during the months of March, April and May. Brady says that residents in southeastern Pennsylvania will soon see the wildfire threat diminish, compared to the rest of the state.

“That’s usually the first region to see the leaves come in and the grass turn green,” said Brady. “That means more shade and moisture for the area and less of a fire threat.”