1st Wildfire Prevention Week March 25-31 Across Kansas 3/15/07

Even so, an array of agencies and organizations are working together to make March 25-31 the state’s first Kansas Wildfire Prevention Week. About 75 percent of Kansas wildfires ignite during spring.

New Terms for Wildfire Danger

Last year the U.S. National Weather Service instituted new terms to use for watches and warnings when the danger of wildfire is high. It also began providing a year-round Fire Weather Planning Forecast, issued by 6 a.m. every day.

The forecast takes into account such wildfire-associated weather elements as relative humidity, mixing height (i.e., how far smoke would rise) and transport wind.

The watches and warnings indicate that a broader combination of risk factors is in effect. Those factors can include available fuel, “helpful” terrain, strong winds (20-plus mph in the Plains), very low relative humidity (under 20 percent), and the likelihood of either lightning after an extended dry period or an actual dry thunderstorm (lightning with little to no rain).

A Fire Weather Watch indicates that dry fuel and expected weather are creating high odds for the NWS to issue a Red Flag Warning within the next 24 to 48 hours. A Red Flag Warning indicates the fuel-weather situation has reached or within 24 hours will reach high-risk levels, when the slightest spark could lead to a conflagration.

On the Web at http://www.kansasforests.org/fire/rangeland.shtml the Kansas Forest Service is now featuring a Kansas-only part of the NWS’s wildfire danger forecast map – including any watches or warnings, plus the NWS’s current Kansas conditions reports.

Last year the state forest service also instituted a program called Firewise to help housing developments and communities near wildfire-prone acres to institute measures to protect their property. A link to more information about Firewise is on the Web at http://www.kansasforests.org/fire/index.shtml.

– Kansas Forest Service

The state’s wildfire totals grew from 130,000 acres in 2005 to an estimated 150,000 acres in ‘06.

The final count for 2005’s losses included the lives of one civilian and two firefighters, according to the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office. The property value that went up in smoke equaled $693,000.

But, the National Weather Service office in Wichita reported one ‘06 wildfire east of Towanda, Kan., belched out enough smoke to cause a pileup on the Kansas Turnpike. Flames charred outbuildings, damaged homes, set three oil wells on fire, destroyed almost 11,000 acres of pasture, and threatened the Oil Hill Elementary School. To fight the fire to a standstill required 34 state, county and city agencies.

“The sad thing is, the danger was already on people’s minds. Before Kansas’ first big fire erupted last year along the Reno-Butler County line, several hard-to-control wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma were in the news repeatedly. Yet, 96 percent of last year’s Kansas wildfires were human-caused,” said Jason Hartman, fire prevention specialist with the Kansas Forest Service.

Drought played a big role in 2006’s fires. Yet, an ordinary dry spell can do just as well.

“If late fall brings good growing conditions, we start the next year with a significant amount of dead vegetation. Dead plant material can’t absorb water. So, it doesn’t take long to dry off enough to burn, either. We can have a situation in which grassland is burning quickly, but firefighting equipment can’t reach it, because the ground is so wet,” said Karl McNorton, chief deputy state fire marshal.

The National Weather Service maintains a Web site at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ict/?n=firewx to map the ever-changing, site-specific odds for U.S. wildfires and provide details about Kansas.

“When the buffalo roamed, lightning was the major cause of Kansas wildfires,” Hartman said. “Pastures in the state still do best if they’re burned occasionally, to get rid of dead plant material and invasive trees and brush. Some native grasses actually need fire to be able to germinate. That’s why you’ll see controlled burns on ranch lands throughout the state each spring.”

In contrast, ensuring wildfires don’t get started isn’t just a concern for rural areas. It’s a critical, personal responsibility for every Kansan, according to Bill Chornyak, deputy director, Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

“Under the right conditions, the simple toss of a cigarette out of a car window could lead to a significant fire, affecting hundreds of acres and damaging numerous businesses or homes,” Chornyak said. “By focusing on what each of us can do to prevent wildfires, we can reduce the need for local, state and possibly federal emergency response -- which can result in thousands of dollars in expenses to government and, therefore, to taxpayers each year.”

USDA’s Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters view human carelessness – not lava, lightning or even controlled burns – as the major cause of the nation’s wildfires today. This includes such dangerous activities as:

• Not ensuring that set fires are totally out – including campfires and used cigarettes; and

• Parking or driving on dry grass with a vehicle that doesn’t have a spark arrester.

In recent years, the USFS, NASF and Ad Council, rewrote the slogan for their “mascot,” Smokey Bear. Rather than cautioning against forest fires, Smokey now says, “Only YOU can prevent wildfires.”

“‘Wildfire’ is a broader term that can include shrubby and grassy areas, too,” Hartman said. “We needed a broader term to cover all of today’s natural resource-related fire risks.”

On a scale never before seen, a unique problem is developing in areas known as the I-Zone – the wild land-urban interface, he said. This interface is anywhere a significant number of people have moved into a suburban or semirural area near fire-prone trees, brush and/or other vegetation.

“Often these people come straight from urban areas. They don’t really understand their new fire risks. They even build and maintain homes in ways that will ensure they’re vulnerable,” Hartman said.

I-Zone fires can be more damaging than urban fires, said Deputy Chief McNorton. They’re typically more widespread and more difficult to control. Even their behavior differs from structural fires’.

Then, because protecting people and structures is the priority in any location, a wildfire’s cost to natural resources, crops, and pastured livestock can be ecologically and economically devastating.

The partners promoting Kansas’ new Wildfire Prevention Week this March are the Kansas Forest Service, Office of the Kansas State Fire Marshall, Kansas Division of Emergency Management, Kansas Citizen Corps, Hutchinson Community College Fire Science program, Kansas State University Research and Extension, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.