Penn State Ag Sciences Newsline -- March 31, 2009

Dry conditions lessened, but forests still face heightened brush fire risk (:47)

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Suggested Intro:

THE RECENT RAINS MAY HAVE MOISTENED WHAT IS STILL AN UNUSUALLY DRY LANDSCAPE IN PENNSYLVANIA, BUT AN EXPERT IN PENN STATE'S COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES SAYS RESIDENTS STILL NEED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN IT COMES TO BRUSH FIRES. GARY ABDULLAH HAS THE STORY:

Story:

(:16)ALTHOUGH APRIL SHOWERS MIGHT BRING MAY FLOWERS, THE MONTH OF APRIL IS ACTUALLY WHEN THE STATES WOODLANDS ARE AT THEIR MOST VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRE. THAT WORD FROM PENN STATE FOREST ECOLOGIST MARGOT KAYE, WHO SAYS OUR CURRENT LOW GROUNDWATER LEVELS ARE ONLY MAKING THINGS WORSE:

Kaye Actuality:
(:18) "MOVING LATER IN THE SEASON, ONCE EVERYTHING GREENS UP, THERE ARE REALLY NOT MANY FIRES AROUND HERE. SO, WE'VE REALLY HIT THE WINDOW RIGHT NOW -- ALL OF THE DRIED GRASS, ALL THE DRIED LEAVES FROM LAST YEAR ARE REALLY IN A GREAT CONDITION TO BURN. AND IF THE TEMPERATURES WERE TO GET A LITTLE WARMER, I THINK WE'D BE IN A SITUATION OF HAVING TO KEEP AN EYE OPEN FOR FIRES GETTING OUT OF CONTROL."

(:13) KAYE SAYS UNLIKE THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, PENN'S WOODS ARE SO MOIST AND GREEN THAT SUBSTANTIAL FOREST FIRES ARE THE EXCEPTION. WHILE NO PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIES ARE CURRENTLY UNDER A BURNING BAN, EVERYONE SHOULD KEEP CAMP FIRES AND BRUSH PILE BURNS TO A MINIMUM. FROM PENN STATE, I'M GARY ABDULLAH.

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Learn more:

"Unlike Volatile West, Pa. Forests Have Grown Less Fire-Prone" (from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences news archives)

Forest Fire Protection -- Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

 

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