So Md Forest Fires

[Hessian]

Wandering through some deep woods -lower Calvert, it struck me as to how much dead vegitation is down. I have seen the scars of a forest fire in the early 80's but I was wondering if anyone has ever noticed a cycle of frequency for So Md fires.

Has anyone ever documented them? Perhaps there were so many farms in the 1800's that forest fires are a relatively new concept now that thousands of acres have returned to forest since the 1930's.

Downed wood,...prolonged wind...dry spring--I can imagine we may face some bad ones!

 

[fttrsbeerwench]

Wouldn't the removal of the downed wood be beneficial to the area? Or is it best to leave it there so that it can decompose naturally and replenish the earth?

There are people that only get their fire wood from downed trees.. They gain permission from the property owners to gather cut and gather what ever downed trees and brush they find..

I think this is a good idea since it means no new trees are being cut and it would reduce the dry wood laying around to fuel possible fires.

I don't have a woodstove or fireplace but have helped many a person gather for their usage.

 

[Hessian]

The problem is...

1) the area that people might scavage is the power lines & sides of the road...
and they leave behind both brush & what I call crap-wood--pulpy weedy stuff.

2) Ice storms & windstorms have capped thousands of forested areas in So Md--nobody goes deep in the woods to save 2 inch Poplar & Pine limbs.

3) More people are burning: both yard waste & wood heat: makes a forest fire more likely...yes, I did have a fire get away from me once-never forget it.

I just don't want to lose our woods...or our homes for that matter: NOR do I want more government regulation (which is likely because: we live in ...Maryland.)

 

[willie]

Back in the late 60's there were indications that both sides of the upper Mill Creek area had a whopper of a fire.

 

[fttrsbeerwench]

1) the area that people might scavage is the power lines & sides of the road...
and they leave behind both brush & what I call crap-wood--pulpy weedy stuff.

2) Ice storms & windstorms have capped thousands of forested areas in So Md--nobody goes deep in the woods to save 2 inch Poplar & Pine limbs.

3) More people are burning: both yard waste & wood heat: makes a forest fire more likely...yes, I did have a fire get away from me once-never forget it.

I just don't want to lose our woods...or our homes for that matter: NOR do I want more government regulation (which is likely because: we live in ...Maryland.)

This really concerns me.. When I go camping, I never bring wood or cut wood. I have always used what I could find.
I see people bringing treated lumber and axes for their camp fires and that disturbs me.. It's laziness, and lazy people tend to be less attentive to their fires which cause forest fires .. blah blah blah.
I agree that nobody these days would happily galavant all over a large wooded area to find prefectly fine fire wood when they can have it delivered.. People are not self sufficient.

I don't think I could stand anymore government regulation of the wild places I like to frequent.. My childhood beach is now a payed boat ramp.. :sad:
My grandmothers home was destroyed by neglegent neighbors and a coal-fired grill.

Would you have any suggestions as to what whoudl be done about it?

 

[BS Gal]

This really concerns me.. When I go camping, I never bring wood or cut wood. I have always used what I could find.
I see people bringing treated lumber and axes for their camp fires and that disturbs me.. It's laziness, and lazy people tend to be less attentive to their fires which cause forest fires .. blah blah blah.
I agree that nobody these days would happily galavant all over a large wooded area to find prefectly fine fire wood when they can have it delivered.. People are not self sufficient.

I don't think I could stand anymore government regulation of the wild places I like to frequent.. My childhood beach is now a payed boat ramp.. :sad:
My grandmothers home was destroyed by neglegent neighbors and a coal-fired grill.

Would you have any suggestions as to what whoudl be done about it?

Well, when I go camping...Wait. I gave that up to the Holiday Inn. It was fun for a while, but then it got to be too much work. And who was there to change my sheets in the morning??? Nobody..... I think the last time we went camping, hubby blew my air mattress up using the exhaust from his truck. He said it was quicker that way..... I tried to put more air in it during the night, but ended up sucking exhaust air up and that's when I decided he was trying to kill me and that ended our camping adventures. Now he has bought me a motorcycle. I'm starting to see a pattern.

Carry on.

 

[MMDad]

Well, when I go camping...Wait. I gave that up to the Holiday Inn. It was fun for a while, but then it got to be too much work. And who was there to change my sheets in the morning??? Nobody..... I think the last time we went camping, hubby blew my air mattress up using the exhaust from his truck. He said it was quicker that way..... I tried to put more air in it during the night, but ended up sucking exhaust air up and that's when I decided he was trying to kill me and that ended our camping adventures. Now he has bought me a motorcycle. I'm starting to see a pattern.

Carry on.

Thanks for the ideas to use on my wife!

 

[BS Gal]

Thanks for the ideas to use on my wife!

Make sure you go to a campground that has cows wandering around. And when the cow craps in her shoes that were left by the campfire, try to talk her into staying a few more days. .......

 

[fttrsbeerwench]

Make sure you go to a campground that has cows wandering around. And when the cow craps in her shoes that were left by the campfire, try to talk her into staying a few more days. .......

'

Did you stay?


















:giggles:

 

[BS Gal]

'

Did you stay?


















:giggles:

No.

 

[dems4me]

Thanks for the ideas to use on my wife!

 

[MMDad]

I checked with a friend who fights forest fires. We don't have forest fires like they do out west because of a number of factors.

1. This area is so populated and there are so many fire stations that a fire never has a chance to get big.

2. A dry season here would be a wet season out west.

3. Low humidity in the summer here is 50%. Out west, the bad fires happen in 10 - 15%. That makes the fuel easier to burn.

4. Once firefighters arrive and establish a water supply, they are rarely more than a couple of miles from huge water supplies. Out west, they rarely have water supplies.

He admitted that we could have bad ones here, but it would be more of a human error than enything else. For example, the incident commander let it get too big before getting more help.

 

[kingofbeers8]

Having work on a helitack fire crew I fought forest fires in the western US for 7 years, The woods here rarely dry to the point where the 1000 hr fuels burn hot, which would provide real heat to sustain a fire.With the nasty ass humidity here it helps put the fire out,alot of the time humidity will knock a fire down before it had time to even burn the 100 hr fuels(1 to 3 inch). Most of what burns complete is the 1 hour fuels, twigs and small branches...grass. Idealy it is a natural course for the forest to burn and is good for cleaning the forest floor for a natural reproduction of trees and other vegetation. for the most part around southern maryland, when you see a forest fire, it was started by some polesmoker using accelerants so leave the marshmallows in the bag.