The Wooden Nutmeg

Couple articles were in Saturday’s Worcester Telegram & Gazette:

Plans shape up to deal with post-storms fire threat
Emergency traffic paths cleared

By Bradford L. Miner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

State Forest Fire Warden David V. Celino checks cleared fire roads yesterday in Brimfield State Forest near the tornado blow-down area.
(T&G Staff/BRADFORD L. MINER)
» Enlarge photo
Four weather disasters in seven months — a tornado, two tropical storms and a late fall snowstorm — has left much of Central Massachusetts looking like one industrial-strength brush pile.

From main highways and back roads throughout the region still sidelined with debris to significantly larger than usual brush piles in backyards, everyone from individuals to state agencies is asking, “What do we do with it?”

And some, like David V. Celino, state forest fire warden for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, are already looking ahead to the threat represented by branches, limbs and whole trees on the ground come spring and the 2012 forest fire season.

At Brimfield State Forest, hardest hit of the DCR properties from the weather events, Mr. Celino this week checked the work done by Mayer Tree Service during the month of September, clearing roads, fire lanes, hiking trails, the day use area and the administrative complex.

Given that unusual weather contributed to an unprecedented amount of fuel on the ground, Mr. Celino said it will be weather this winter and throughout the coming spring that ultimately determines the severity and duration of the forest fire season.

He said he was pleased to see even just a dusting of snow on the ground, saying that dead vegetation on the ground will have had ample time to dry out or “cure,” by March or April, unless it’s been sitting beneath a foot or more of snow for most of the winter.

“The weather has been like a double-edged sword,” he said, citing on one hand the extraordinary amount of damage to the state’s forests, and on the other, the day-to-day wetter than usual weather throughout the fall.

“Fortunately, that has slowed the curing process for all of the fuel on the ground since the tornado,” he said.

The chief fire warden said the monthlong effort by Mayer Tree Service of Essex had improved access to any wildlands fire in the state forest for brush firetrucks and other fire apparatus, but mounting a direct attack on any fire even a hundred yards off any of the fire roads presented a tactical challenge because the better part of a thousand acres was still inaccessible.

“We’re looking at a situation where we might have to rely on an aerial attack, using helicopters, drawing from the closest water source here. Otherwise, we have a fire bulldozer that could be deployed here as well, if necessary,” he said.

According to Peter Church, director of Forest Stewardship for DCR, the tree service cleared the primary roads and unimproved fire lanes, many of the trails, the day use area and the administrative office and garage complex.

Mr. Church said while the DCR was still assessing damage to parks and forests across the state from the subsequent storms, dealing with the tornado damage at Brimfield had been a priority.

The fire warden said even with improved access, speed would be critical, mounting an initial attack, even in the more remote areas, as quickly as possible to control the spread of any fire.

Mr. Celino said many of the state forests and parks, particularly in the Holyoke Range still have blocked roads and trails from the Oct. 29 snowstorm, but that is not as critical as the tornado blow-down areas that have a five-month head start in drying over the limbs and trees brought down by the snowstorm.

“If we have an open winter, with little or no snow cover and warmer than usual temperatures will be problematic, going into brush fire season with drier than usual conditions in the forests and blow-down areas,” he said.

Given that many brush fires each spring originate as out-of-control brush pile fires, Mr. Celino’s advice to homeowners is simple: “Don’t wait.”

He said open burning season begins Jan. 15 and recommended that brush piles be covered until then with a tarp to keep them dry enough to burn.

“The first occasion after the 15th when there’s little or no wind and at least a few inches of snow on the ground, that’s when as much brush as possible should be burned. Waiting until the end of the brush burning season in April is just asking for trouble,” he said.

As a proactive measure, Mr. Celino said between now and the start of brush fire season he and his Forest Fire Control crew would be having training sessions for fire departments in Brimfield, Monson, Sturbridge and Southbridge, and other communities to the west having been hit by the tornado to provide skills in tackling a wildlands fire which would likely be more intense than an average brush fire where the amount of fuel on the ground is much less.

Mr. Church called the amount of storm damage to DCR properties as unprecedented.

Nonetheless, he said, it was immediately apparent there was a public safety component to the blocked roads, fire lanes, and trails, as well as the day use and headquarters areas that would have to be addressed.

Mr. Church said DCR’s safety concern was twofold — a brush fire in central area of the blow-down as well as any fire on the perimeter of the state property that threatened private homes.

“We started in September and cleared all the fire roads, hiking trails, the day use area and the area around the administration building.” He said the work took about a month. The second phase will consider the homes abutting the DCR boundaries and whether establishing a fire break would be necessary to address the amount of fuel on the ground. There are a number of private properties on Dearth Hill Road, that are like pockets within the park, and we’ll be doing an assessment of those sites within the next couple of months to see if more clearing is warranted.

The cost of the Brimfield forest cleanup was $140,000.

He said DCR foresters would do an assessment of the blow-down area to determine if any of it had salvage value to offset the cost to date of the cleanup.

Edward M. Lambert Jr., DCR commissioner said, “DCR is deeply committed to the rehabilitation of its forests and parks following a year of intense weather and extensive damage to these well-loved spaces.”

“That said, following the most recent storm in October, our first concern was assisting cities, towns and locals in removing dangerous downed trees and materials to clear the way for utility and emergency workers to get residents back online and safe in their homes and communities. With that work mostly complete, DCR refocused its staff, equipment and energy on reopening and rehabilitating our parks and forests,” the commissioner said.

Mr. Lambert said agency personnel, hikers and avid outdoors people, shared the public’s eagerness to get back to the parks; but as stewards, DCR had an obligation to be sure it is safe for visitors before we reopen.”

http://www.telegram.com/article/20111210/NEWS/112109881/1101/local

Group wants bids on wood cleanup

By Bradford L. Miner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The Massachusetts Wood Producers Association wants the state to put thousands of acres of forest damaged by the June 1 tornado, the two tropical storms and the Oct. 29 snowstorm up for salvage bid.

Jeff Poirier, president of the group representing loggers, foresters, sawmill operators, firewood dealers and landowners, has asked Richard K. Sullivan Jr., secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, to move beyond the cleanup efforts to date that have focused on public safety.

“The Commonwealth has not responded to its forest stewardship responsibility to salvage forest products or conduct meaningful forest restoration,” Mr. Poirier stated in a letter to the EEA secretary.

Mr. Poirier said the association is concerned that the state’s lack of action increases the risk of forest fires at the same time reducing potential benefits to the local economy and revenue to communities from the Forest Products Trust Fund.

“Thousands of acres of off-road, interior damage remain at a time when impacted cities and towns are most in need of the added revenue salvage operations would bring as well as the cleanup essential for tourist recreational activities,” the letter stated.

Critical of the state’s revised policies on forest management on state land, Mr. Poirier said the forest and woods products industry has been adversely affected by the combination of the poor economy and the state’s moratorium on logging properties managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, including the Quabbin, Ware River and Wachusett watersheds.

“The Massachusetts Wood Producers Association is very concerned that as months pass by without initiating a serious forest restoration effort, the opportunity to salvage forest products economically is decreasing dramatically due to forest insects, diseases, and diminished quality of the timber,” Mr. Poirier said.

He said it was counterproductive for state agencies to pay tree service companies to remove damaged timber when the state could be making money by putting out bids and awarding contracts.

“This is a great opportunity for the public to experience and appreciate the value and skill of our forest-based economy, significantly damaged by the recent turmoil and visioning process,” Mr. Poirier said.

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20111210%2FNEWS%2F112109968%2F1101%2Flocal

…of a whole bunch of photos from this summer that I have to upload:

I have a bunch of stuff plugged up in the pipeline…nights are growing longer but the weather is still too nice outside

Found this series tonight; first one is cutting a spring pole:

However, that style looks a bit facacta to me. Hey, we have a fire, let’s cut this little notch and wait and hope we cut it enough and we won’t have to come in and make a deeper cut. I prefer shaving diagonally from the outside; for lack of a better word “Game of Logging” style though I’m sure they didn’t invent it:

I had to add a new disturbance category — tornado! I listened on the scanner to Southbridge’s response during it (and called friends in the area to warn them of it).

Driving on Route 169 the following Sunday, I think I saw every.single.patrol.truck that Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control owns. There was no good, close place for me to pull over for photo I will need to find that article — it was reported they were working to clean up a debris-clogged stream so it would cause flooding into homes should a rainstorm hit.

Article from today’s T&G:

SOUTHBRIDGE — Difficult to imagine, but the June 1 tornado that turned lives upside down here with winds approaching 200 miles per hour, has an upside.

For the majority of plant and animal species and the state biologists, foresters and naturalists who study them, the tornado’s path across 50 acres of the McKinstry Brook Wildlife Management Area, off Pleasant Street, is a dramatic example of instant habitat diversity – the very thing the state’s wildlife agency strives for on its properties.

John J. Scanlon, forester project leader for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said the uprooted and snapped off red oaks and white pines present a living laboratory in which the rapid succession of plant and animal species can be studied.

“Public site visits usually include a walking tour, stopping at points of interest along the way. We’ll get folks as close as possible to the tornado impact area and contrast the disturbed forest habitat with the undamaged forest of mature white pines and mixed hardwoods to the north and south of the tornado’s track,” he said.

William J. Davis, Central Wildlife District supervisor, said he was amazed at the initial look at damage with Mr. Scanlon and Brandon Kibbe, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife land acquisition agent.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. Literally we crawled and climbed to get under, over or around the downed trees and debris,” Mr. Davis said.

“This certainly lays the groundwork for a most interesting site visit we’ve planned for the public in October where John will be talking about the forest response to this dramatic disturbance,” he added

Mr. Davis said the forest project leader has contacted the U.S. Forest Service and Harvard Forest, where dramatic disturbances have been replicated.

“I would think the only likely intervention on our part would be to reduce the risk of wildfire,” he said of Mr. Scanlon’s contact with the Department of Conservation and Recreation fire warden.

“From a human perspective, the tornado was a destructive, life-altering event. But from a wildlife perspective, it creates some tremendously valuable habitat,” Mr. Scanlon said.

He said a more widespread example of a natural disturbance making small changes in habitat would be the ice storm of December 2008.

“It caused nowhere near the damage of the tornado, but it did thin out the forest canopy, allowing more sunlight to reach the forest floor. Add to the equation two consecutive years of very successful acorn production and what you have today is an abundance of red oak seedlings,” Mr. Scanlon said.

Oak seedlings typically don’t thrive in the near constant shade of trees that, in this instance, are 70 years old. But since the storm, with nothing blocking sunlight, we expect a thick cover of raspberries, oak seedlings, along with black birch, red maple, and white pine seedlings all vying for dominance, creating a canopy over the downed trees in as little as 3 to 5 years, he said.

“The standing, snapped-off tree trunks provide a perfect habitat for cavity-nesting birds – woodpeckers, some owls, chickadees, nuthatches, swallows and bluebirds. Beyond that, in the disturbed area we would expect to see an increase in shrub land birds, like the chestnut-sided warbler, prairie warbler, brown thrasher, Eastern towhee – all species that benefit from the new forest growth.

“Of course in any scenario there are winners and losers, and the losers in this case would be the forest-nesting birds, such as the ovenbird, wood thrush, tanagers and many of the warblers that thrive beneath a mature forest canopy,” the forester said.

Mr. Scanlon said the tornado swath through the wildlife management area ranged from 500 to 1,000 feet wide, and is bordered to the north and south by the same mixed pine and hardwood forest.

As for the larger mammals, the forester said white-tailed deer would have no trouble navigating the tornado area.

He said a study last winter during deep snow conditions found that deer were seeking out south-facing areas as well as the shelter of trees blown over, providing cover against the wind.

The most common den site for black bear in Massachusetts, Mr. Scanlon said, is a brush pile. Again, he added, the amount of vegetation on the ground over the 50 or so acres will be very attractive to black bear.

Despite the human tragedy and sense of loss in the wake of the tornado, the outlook for wildlife along the 39-mile track of the storm is positive.

While the tornado damage has resulted in stream blockage in some areas, Mr. Scanlon said he and others doing an initial survey were struck by the lack of impact on McKinstry Brook.

“The day of our visit, the brook was flowing clean, clear, unobstructed and looking down from trees that came down across the brook we could see what appeared to be brook trout. The trees falling across and straddling the brook for the most part are suspended over it, with very little debris in the stream itself. For brook trout, the conditions seem to be ideal, at least for the time being.”

Mr. Scanlon said the agency’s plan is not to conduct any timber salvage at the site, because of the high value of altered habitat.

The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife had planned a site visit for Aug. 11 but, given the continuing cleanup and recovery efforts on adjoining private property, has delayed the field trip until October.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20110722/NEWS/107229802/1116

Saw this very interesting statement in an article otherwise about the recent tornado:

He said a more widespread example of a natural disturbance making small changes in habitat would be the ice storm of December 2008.

“It caused nowhere near the damage of the tornado, but it did thin out the forest canopy, allowing more sunlight to reach the forest floor. Add to the equation two consecutive years of very successful acorn production and what you have today is an abundance of red oak seedlings,” Mr. Scanlon said.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20110722/NEWS/107229802/1116

Oaks are well known for holding onto their leaves through winter and into the following spring — so these seedlings will contribute to elevated fire danger for several years to come, providing tinder fuels in the form of their dry leaves off the ground.

The most famous of all these paths was the one known as the Bay Path. It was in existence in 1673, and doubtless before. It left the Old Connecticut Path at Wayland, Massachusetts, and ran through Marlborough to Worcester, then to Oxford, Charlton, and Brookfield, where jutted off the Hadley Path, to Ware, Belchertown, and Hadley, while the Bay Path rejoined the Old Connecticut Path and thus on to Springfield. Holland wrote of the Bay Path in his novel of that title: -

“It was marked by trees a portion of the distance and by slight clearings of brush and thicket for the remainder. No stream was bridged, no hill was graded, and no marsh drained. The path led through woods which bore the mark of centuries, over barren hills which had been licked by the Indian hounds of fire, and along the banks of streams that the seine had never dragged, A powerful interest was attached to the Bay Path. It was the channel through which laws were communicated, through which flowed news from distant friends, and through which came long, loving letters and messages. That rough thread of soil, chipped by the blades of a hundred streams, was a trail that radiated at each terminus into a thousand fibres of love, and interest, and hope, and memory. Every rod had been prayed over by friends on the journey and friends at home.”

STAGECOACH and TAVERN DAYS
Alice Morse Earle, MacMillan, New York — 1900.
CHAPTER X. FROM PATH TO TURNPIKE

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/other/ABL/etext/stagetavern/chp10.html

A mostly unremarkable fire season here this year — after having a snow pack exceeding 3′ this winter (and hundreds if not thousands of building collapses in Connecticut), and fairly regular spring rains. It’s April 5th and I’m still finding pockets of snow on the ground in my town.

Last week Kent, CT lost a fire engine at a grass fire when the transmission hung up between road and pump.

In the last few minutes out of my dispatch center for Mortlake (Station 90), Chaplin (9), and Eastford (71):

3/27/2011 1:55:10 PM
STA90 33.76 Brush/Grass Fire 141 CREAMERY BROOK RD / Brooklyn (X-STS ALLEN HILL RD / PURVIS RD ) 13:55
3/27/2011 1:58:53 PM
STA09 STA512 R512 33.78 Brush/Grass Fire 616 PHOENIXVILLE RD / Chaplin (X-STS PUMPKIN HILL RD / NATCHAUG ST ) 13:59
3/27/2011 2:02:22 PM
STA71 33.90 Brush/Grass Fire 12 WESTFORD RD / Eastford (X-STS JOHN PERRY RD / EASTFORD RD OLD COLONY RD ) 14:02

Being Sunday, I’m guessing these were all non-permit burns by homeowners doing spring cleanup that have gotten away from them.

200 Block of Senexet Road.

Four acre fire that sounded well off the road…the call went out around midnight with temperatures dropping into the 20s. I wonder how long the officer was out there looking before he found it!

Woodstock, Muddy Brook, Bungay, Community (Thompson), West Thompson to scene; Pomfret cover Woodstock, Eastford cover Bungay, Quinebaug cover Muddy Brook.

As I watched the leaves blowing around while doing firewood that afternoon I thought it would be a decent woods fire day if only it was warmer…leaves were real dry and fluffy with a stiff wind.

ctfire-ems.com forums also reported decent fires in East Haven, Lebanon, and Canton earlier in the day.

Some how this post for April 7th was in my computer / technical blog!

CT Fire Danger: Very High

RED FLAG

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
411 AM EDT WED APR 7 2010

CTZ002>004-MAZ002>019-026-RIZ001-002-071615-
/O.UPG.KBOX.FW.A.0001.100407T1500Z-100407T2200Z/
/O.NEW.KBOX.FW.W.0001.100407T1500Z-100407T2200Z/
HARTFORD CT-TOLLAND CT-WINDHAM CT-WESTERN FRANKLIN MA-
EASTERN FRANKLIN MA-NORTHERN WORCESTER MA-CENTRAL MIDDLESEX MA-
WESTERN ESSEX MA-EASTERN ESSEX MA-WESTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-
WESTERN HAMPDEN MA-EASTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-EASTERN HAMPDEN MA-
SOUTHERN WORCESTER MA-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA-
SUFFOLK MA-EASTERN NORFOLK MA-NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-
WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-NORTHERN MIDDLESEX MA-
NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE RI-SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI-
411 AM EDT WED APR 7 2010

…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM EDT
THIS EVENING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM EDT
THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

THIS WARNING IS FOR MUCH OF MASSACHUSETTS…NORTHERN CONNECTICUT…AND
NORTHWEST RHODE ISLAND.

THERE WILL BE AN ENHANCED RISK OF FIRE SPREAD ACROSS THE WARNING
AREA LATE THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON. SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED
TO INCREASE WITH FREQUENT GUSTS AROUND 25 MPH. IN ADDITION…MINIMUM
AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO BETWEEN 25 AND
30 PERCENT AS TEMPERATURES RISE INTO THE MID 80S.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

FIRE WEATHER PLANNING FORECAST FOR SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
404 AM EDT WED APR 7 2010

…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM EDT
THIS EVENING…

.DISCUSSION…
WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS COMBINED WITH GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL
RESULT IN RED FLAG CONDITIONS WITH MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES OF 25
TO 30 PERCENT. A BACKDOOR FRONT WILL BRING EASTERLY WINDS AND COOLER
CONDITIONS THURSDAY WITH HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITIES BETWEEN 40 TO 60
PERCENT.

OUTLOOK…FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY…

A PERIOD OF SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED FRIDAY
AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. COOL AND DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR
THE WEEKEND WITH GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS AND MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES
OF 25 T0 35 PERCENT.

CTZ004-080815-
WINDHAM CT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ASHFORD…PLAINFIELD…PUTNAM…
WILLIMANTIC
404 AM EDT WED APR 7 2010

…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM EDT
THIS EVENING…

TODAY TONIGHT THU

CLOUD COVER MCLEAR MCLEAR PCLDY
PRECIP TYPE NONE NONE NONE
CHANCE PRECIP (%) 0 0 10
TEMP /24H TREND/ 84 (+14) 53 (+5) 80
RH % /24H TREND/ 28 (-7) 96 (-4) 42
20FT WND AM /MPH/ SW 5 G20 LGT/VAR
20FT WND PM /MPH/ SW 11 G21 SW 5 G17 SE 7
PRECIP AMOUNT 0.00 0.00 0.00
PRECIP DURATION
PRECIP BEGIN
PRECIP END
MIXING HGT /FT-AGL/ 3720 70 4900
TRANSPORT WND /KTS/ W 25 SW 9 SW 15
VENT RATE /KT-FT/ 93000 630 73500
CWR 0 0 0
LAL NO TSTMS NO TSTMS NO TSTMS
HAINES INDEX 5 5 4

REMARKS…NONE.

.FORECAST FOR DAYS 3 THROUGH 7…
.THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. LOWS IN
THE UPPER 40S. SOUTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.FRIDAY…SHOWERS WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE LOWER
60S. SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS. LOWS IN
THE MID 30S. WEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.SATURDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 50S. WEST WINDS 15 TO
20 MPH.
.SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE MID 30S.
HIGHS IN THE LOWER 60S. WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE MID 30S. HIGHS
IN THE UPPER 50S. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.MONDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE MID 30S. NORTHWEST WINDS
5 TO 10 MPH.
.TUESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 60. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO
10 MPH.

Some great photos from All Hands Going to Work of a brush fire on Staten Island on 8 September 2010. There were two fires that day, one six alarms and the other five.

The tall “cattails” or reeds in the picture are phragmites. Phrags are an odd duck — in the last decade and a half or so they’ve become much more aggressive in colonizing habitats, growing faster and denser then in the past. There are native North American phrags, but one prominent theory is there is now an invasive but closely related species from Europe that is simply far out competing the native fauna.

As the pictures show, they can present one heck of a fire hazard. We’re also in a mild to moderate drought including the metro NYC area. Fires like these do seem to be common around cities in the northeast, where phragmites grow very well in nearby wetlands and tend to be spectacular for their heavy flames and loom up.

Those who have read this blog know I have two themes that have been developing over the years.

One is know your fuels and conditions — most of our brush fires are no big deal, but they can surprise folks with unexpected intensity if you don’t recognize critical situations. The body language is pretty clear, these guys got surprised.

Second is most of us municipal firefighters in the northeast — career and volunteer — tend to work harder and not smarter at brush fires. From the photos this looks like an ideal place to use a road flare to light a back burn. The fire was going to burn to the road anyways, you’re not going to go walking in wetlands to bring the fight to the fire, there’s no obvious exposures (people, structures, valuable plants) — just help the fire achieve what is going to happen and stand back and relax unless there are spot fires that cross the road that need a small handline to knock down. Of course, that’s not something to just wing one day — using a back burn as a tactic needs to be carefully thought about before being used, and it should be trained on as a tactic so everyone involved knows to expect it as a potential option.

How dry I am…

I haven’t been tracking the daily fire danger in Connecticut as I haven’t been hearing of increased fire activity. Unusual for it to be high this time of year. Checking this morning we’re split three ways:
VERY HIGH: Litchfield County
HIGH: Hartford, Tolland
MODERATE: Rest of state.

The three non-moderate counties correspond to the deeper drought shown on the maps.

Perhaps the most unlikely location for a fire prevention activity in the history of the U.S.:

The Scituate monitors helped thwart the Japanese attempts to bomb the United States with TNT-laden hot-air balloons. To keep track of the silent craft, the Japanese placed radio transmitters on aboard the deadly balloons. But the RID eavesdroppers heard the signals, related the information to Washington and U.S. fighter planes were promptly dispatched to destroy the balloons.

In the entire course of the war, only a few balloons penetrated the electronic screen; one landed harmlessly in Wisconsin, and others drifted off into the Canadian wilderness.

Source (archive)

During World War II, the Federal Communications Commission operated a Radio Intercept facility on Chopmist Hill (a high, broad plain) in Scituate, RI. It was considered the most effective of thirteen such stations. I remember driving through this area as a kid in the 1970s and knowing something weird was done here by the odd phone poles you could still see. I’m not sure if the trees are more mature now or the poles have been taken out, it doesn’t stand out as much today.

For a brief time this location was on a short-list of potential headquarters sites for the United Nations, since it was felt the excellent radio communications and the ability to build an airfield there would be natural complements to being the headquarters. Then the Rockefellers donated the land in the New York City and the rest as they say was history.

Groton continues to burn! Have to wonder if they have an ATV riding fire bug or something…

(Collected from internet, thanks Beaker.)

By Robert Mills, rmills@lowellsun.com
Updated: 08/30/2010 08:11:41 PM EDT

GROTON — Firefighters from 18 communities converged on Groton and Dunstable Monday evening to battle a brush fire that burned an estimated 10 to 15 acres between Chicopee Row and Martins Pond Road.

Dunstable Fire Chief Charlie Rich, coordinating efforts to battle the blaze from a command point set up on Chicopee Road, said firefighters learned of the blaze at about 3:30 p.m., but initially had a hard time locating it.

Rich said the fire was about a half-mile from the nearest street.

Firefighters accessed it from Chicopee Row and from Floyd Hill Road, a dead-end off Martins Pond Road.

As darkness fell, crews were working to create a perimeter around the fire. Rich said firefighters would be back to continue fighting it first thing in the morning.

A mobile command center and special operations vehicle from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services joined crews at the scene.

Potential to setup a fall fire season in New England. Connecticut has been receiving just enough rain to stay as moderate fire danger, but it’s flirting with build-up being sufficient to become “high.”

We have a bona fide summer fire season this year.

It’s been setup by a dry spell that has had the last significant rainfall in large parts of Southern New England be on June 23rd. Around the 4th of July was spectacular warm but dry weather; then following for Monday it turned extremely hot and humid with temps breaking 100º Monday and Tuesday.

Yesterday, July 10th, some areas received heavy rain. My home, however, barely broke the 1/4″ mark:

Major fires struck in Groton, MA (two separate incidents) and Holden, MA. The Holden fire covered approximately 50 acres and was attended to from Monday (5 July) through Friday. The first Groton fire of around 12 acres was active from Monday through Wednesday, then a fire in a separate section of town was fought on Thursday and Friday. After checking the perimeter and determining the active fire on Saturday was burning with no danger of exposing improved property, and with rain imminent within a few hours, it was allowed to burn without firefighting efforts.

Fires this time of year tend not to spread fast (the Connecticut fire danger hasn’t popped above “Moderate” during this spell yet), but go deep following the roots. Run hoses out into the woods, and leave them in place for a few days even for small one or two acre fires so you can return and wet down the area each day. Grub around with tools like Pulaskis and shovels.

Southwestern Connecticut was hit hardest in this state, with some of the fires reported on the ctfire-ems.com forums being:

4 July: Middletown (South District). Initially under control 1537. 1730 it was running again and a large m/a request made. Durham Tanker, Haddam Tanker and Brush Unit’s, Westfield, Portland, Middletown, DEP to scene. Middlefield, Middletown with cover assignments to South District.

5 July: Bethany, m/a Hamden, Woodbridge, Oxford, Prospect, Beacon Falls, Seymour for coverage. Fire located 1-1/2 miles off the road; ATVs could bring FFs about half-way in then rest on foot. Hose laid to fire.

7 July: Mulch pile fire on state property, Farmington. East Farms (2 Engines), Farmington (2 Engines), Oakland Gardens (Engine), Tunxis Hose (Engine), Plainville (Coverage), State DOT for front end loader.

7 July: New Milford, under 1 acre burning along power lines. Waterwitch, Gaylordsville, Northville, Brookfield (last three for tanker & manpower), New Milford Ambulance, Roxbury Rehab Unit

11 July: Voluntown, mulch pile. Voluntown, Griswold (2 ETs), Jewett City (Engine, Ladder), plus tankers from Preston City, Lisbon, Baltic, Moosup

The first Groton fire was accessible only to ATVs, and my sources report a 20′ x 18″ trench was hand dug around the perimeter. The second fire would see the hiring and deployment of three bulldozers on Friday. Bulldozers are very, very rarely used in New England. Both Connecticut and Massachusetts own one, but the single time I know of in the last ten years that each has been used they were used primarily to build an access road to a fire deep in the woods; in Groton the dozers were used to make fire line.

Pictures from the Groton Fires sent to me:
From the 8-9 July Fire:

From the July 5-7th incident…Brookline for a UTV! (With the fire also burning in Holden taking resources from Central Mass, a task force from Metro Boston was pulled in, along with resources from District 14 (Framingham region) and Merrimack Valley)

WBZ has a real nice video on the Holden fire here. (In my archives as Holden_July_2010.mpg in case that link disappears). Holden’s press release tallied up 29 communities that had come to it’s assistance.

Mashpee, MA also had a significant fire covering 5 acres. Cape News Net has a great article here (archived copy), from which these photos were taken. Some great, great examples of Brush breakers in action:

This is a great read describing the situation of indian clearings and cultivations at the time of European contact:

Indian New England Before the Mayflower

The author, Howard Russell, also wrote the authoritative history of agriculture in New England, a book I own and have thoroughly enjoyed reading over the years.

A minor redux of the Dark Day of 1780:

An article in the Cape Cod Times:

By Karen Jeffrey
Cape Cod Times
May 31, 2010

That smoke getting in your eyes, your hair and your homes today is coming from Canada, according to the National Weather Service.

Police and fire departments across the Cape are reporting numerous calls from people reporting the smell of smoke, and in some cases, seeing smoke drift across their property this morning.

However, the fires producing the smoke are not local, they are riding air currents down from our neighbor to the north – Canada.

Northwest winds are bringing smoke into Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont from wildfires that are burning in Canada, according to the National Weather Service.

People with respiratory problems were being advised to limit their outdoor activities.

According Canadian press reports there are more than 50 forest fires burning in the in Quebec, including eight that are out of control.

About 1,200 firefighters, including some from Maine, New Brunswick, New Hampshire and western Canada are working to put them out. Canadian newspapers report that Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources reports 73 active forest fires today, mostly north of Toronto. The province rates the forest fire danger “extreme” and has declared a restricted zone in the northeastern part of the province to reduce the danger of human-caused fire.

The weather service says the northwest winds are expected shift to the southwest on this afternoon and end the smoky conditions.

According Canadian press reports there are more than 50 forest fires burning in the in Quebec, including eight that are out of control.

And this was from the National Weather Service:

THE VERMONT AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN COORDINATION WITH THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED AN AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY FOR
ALL OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VERMONT. AN AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY
MEANS THAT PARTICULATE CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN THE REGION MAY
APPROACH OR EXCEED UNHEALTHY STANDARDS.

DENSE SMOKE FROM LARGE WILDLAND FOREST FIRES ACROSS CENTRAL QUEBEC
HAS DRIFTED ATOP THE REGION TODAY WITH VISIBILITIES LOCALLY AS
LOW AS 1 MILE BEING REPORTED.

It drifted in Brooklyn around 5:30 or so. Kind of funky seeing smoke everywhere you looked!

Interesting fire burning just northeast of Roscommon, MI (yes, as in the Roscommon Equipment Center that does a lot of forest fire R&D!)

It’s burning in a white pine, red pine, and jack pine area of Huron National Forest and adjacent areas. Wildland Fire Today has some good posts here, here, here, here, and here.

That may not be quite typical of southern New England in how large of areas are pine dominated, although it looks a lot more like southern Maine. But it’s burning in moderate winds and low humidity (14%) that is very common in New England, as well as flat terrain. These are conditions much more like New England then you see in fires out west.

Note the spotting that looks perhaps a mile ahead of the main fire line.

This is a good presentation on spotting, archived here.

“Close In” spotting is stuff that might go a few feet — say cross a 4′ to 6′ control line. If it’s only an occasional spot easily policed by a firefighter with a handtool or indian can, not a problem. If it’s prolific, you need a change in strategy and tactics.

Prolific is one of the big warning signs. Think the ember storms you see in some videos engulfing houses, since they can light an overwhelming number of fires.

Short range: Beyond “close in”; say tens of feet up to 600′

Medium range: 600′ to a mile.

Long range: > 1 mile

This picture shows spotting across a good 40′ of gravel and pavement…clearly this fire was going to require big burnouts from control lines well in advance of the fire to attack it at this time of day. I believe that’s Jack Pine. Jack Pine can be “scrubby” in poor soil, but it can also grow tall and straight. It is closely related too (and can hybridize with) Lodgepole Pine.

It sounds like most progress was made after night fall when they could make good progress on building fire lines as the fire left the crown and came to ground. Makes you think of the need for fairly long range planning, trying to use air resources and initial attack to protect structures and control spot fires during the day while pre-positioning resources like dozers and burn out crews to launch an all out assault once the conditions turn more favorable in the cooler, moister, and usually calmer evening.

The northeast wind on Tuesday, 5/18 that drove it turned to a northwest wind on Wednesday, 5/19. I’d imagine the focus of efforts was to make sure that southern / eastern flank was well secured, as well as being concerned if there were any unknown spot fires that could be driven by the new winds.

The forest types of Huron National Forest:

As a followup, I was the area and found the 1980 Mack Lake Fire which is documented here. It started 8 miles almost due east of this fire.

Lots of good stuff in that report. The Mack Lake fire ranks in the top for forest fire spread and BTU release rate recorded in North America. It averaged 2mph, hit 7mph peak. 27,000 BTUs/foot/second were estimated, with a theoretical maximum (for all forests) being 30,000.

It was a prescribed burn that got out of control, resulting in a LODD (Dozer Operator), 44 structures, and 20,000 acres lost in the first six hours, then it was essentially out except for mop-up.

Perhaps most interesting: This area of Michigan, per tree ring research, experiences a 10,000 acre fire an average of every 28 years.

They seem to follow a basic pattern — the weather isn’t remarkably bad (moderately warm day, moderately low humidity, moderate winds) but once they get going they run like a bat out of hell until it’s either early evening or they run out of jack pine and into hardwoods. Then the fire goes to ground and is easily contained overnight.

The last major fire before this one was Mack Lake, so it this was pretty much right on schedule.

Nice report on why British Columbia, the only province that used shelters, discontinued them when the new style shelters were issued. Archived here.

There’s only two LODD incidents I know of in southern New England due to the fire (and not exertion / medical problems). One is this 1938 burn over on Cape Cod which killed three firefighters. The other was in Rhode Island near the Connecticut line, possibly in 1942 although I still have to hunt down official documentation, which again killed three in a burn over of their truck. I don’t know if shelters would make a difference in the circumstances of these burn overs. It may be better to emphasize the Canadian / Australian model of better awareness and avoidance for the conditions in this area.

Saw this pop up on Google News. Don’t think I even have a category for something this far afield

Reminded me of the early Connecticut forest fire guides written at a time that tools and equipment were so primitive and in short supply that it directed using things like green cedar boughs to beat out fires, and that wet sacks worked well too.

Now, they clear all growth on either side of the roads and boundary lines of forests and burn the debris so that accidental fire could be prevented from spreading inside the forests. How far they are effective is anybody’s guess ! At vantage points like hill tops, tree-top machans, fire watchers on daily wages are engaged and stationed during the fire season to watch for any fire occurrence through indications of rising smoke, and to immediately communicate to the ground staff through wireless network.

Forest fires are extinguished manually by beating the fire with green leaf brooms unlike in developed countries where helicopters are used to sprinkle or shower water over burning areas, which is very expensive. Fire tenders cannot reach the spot due to steep terrain and absence of roads.

Rest here, with an archived one here.

Photo essay from the Wood River Valley area: http://d90.us/wooden_nutmeg/essays/Arcadia_2010/

A really great write up of managing fire in New England Pine Barrens, archive here.

In addition to those “natural community” issues, few active firefighters have seen truly severe fire conditions in New England.

Although rainfall alone doesn’t dictate fire danger (frequency of rain is likely much more important in New England in keeping fire danger to “high” or below), the following graphs show a very sharp difference between pre-1970 and post-1970 climate. You can get more data for different regions of the New England states here.

I strongly suspect that it is not coincidence that we haven’t had a serious forest fire problem in southern New England since the early 1960s. Before, roughly, 1970 we used to experience a deep drought about every ten years. Nothing since 1970 has matched those 10 year droughts.

Also I’m still researching the frequency rain events. Rain tends to “reset” the fire danger.

Let’s assume a cycle like this; while conjecture it’s not an unreasonable cycle based on my observations over the years:
Day 1: Rain (Low danger)
Day 2: Moderate
Day 3: High
Day 4: High
Day 5: High
Day 6: High
Day 7: Very High
Day 8: Very High
Day 9: Very High
Day 10: Rain (Low)

Now add in one overnight rain:
Day 1: Rain (Low danger)
Day 2: Moderate
Day 3: High
Day 4: High
Day 5: Rain overnight (moderate)
Day 6: Moderate
Day 7: High
Day 8: High
Day 9: High
Day 10: Rain (Low)

Most people wouldn’t notice a major impact from an extra shower or two in April, but it could be having a very large impact on fire danger.

Going far outside of New England, I stumbled on this interesting article:

At old ranches and on some remaining farms near the foothills, one can see old barbed-wire-fence “pitch posts.” These relics of a bygone era artistically reveal some Colorado history and provide an interesting forestry lesson.

Pitch posts were cut and split from the dense and heavy wood of live pitchy trees. Pitch is a resin found in evergreen trees and it forms when trees are injured. When the injury is caused by heat from ground-surface, low-intensity forest fires, and the fire has not killed the tree, more sap is made. This resin then concentrates in outer layers of sap-wood.

Long ago, forest fires were started from lightning and often times by indigenous people. Native Americans knew that a flush of new and tender vegetation that sprouts after fire meant well-nourished game and thus better hunting. With no human effort to suppress forest fires, they were frequent, and trees were often injured by fire.

In those conditions, a “relatively young,” 150-year-old tree may have received fire damage three, four, five or more times in its lifetime. A living tree exposed to that many fires accumulates high concentrations of pitch all the way from its heartwood center out to the bark.

…

Back then, many forest fires persisted for months. These long-lasting fires took on a variety of day-to-day behavior, depending upon weather, terrain and fuel conditions in their path. Some fires smoldered underground for a long time as root fires, only to be rekindled with a strong, dry wind. Over centuries of time, subsequent fires affected miles and miles of forest, covering a wide range of aspects and elevations.

Archived here.

May, 1930 Fire Outbreak in the Northeast

The articles that follow are from the New London Day documenting a break out of wildfires in Connecticut and Rhode Island (as well as the rest of the northeast).

There were warning signs at the very end of April, with a large fire in Colchester, East Hampton, and Marlborough consuming 3,000 acres. Even by the standards of the day that was a fairly large fire:

A few days later Waterford had a woods fire.

This one only covered 100 acres, but something ominous was occurring:

Foreman Thomas B. Woodworth of the Quaker Hill fire department [said] some of the “new” fires broke out 1,000′ ahead of the firemen. He said that it was possible the blazes may have been started from blazing bits of dried chestnut wood.

Ok, so we’re also in the middle of the Chestnut Blight that put a very large load of dead fuels in the forests. But that aside, since the trees were dead the year before and the year after and we didn’t have these intense fires every year…they were seeing “spotting” 1,000′ ahead of the fire. In Connecticut. (This is the first documentation I’ve seen that gives a distance with what we can expect for spotting in our area in an extreme fire year).

Then all hell broke loose.

From The New London Day on May 5, 1930:

Six homes, thirty other buildings, and 3,000 acres in Westerly and Charlestown, RI that burned essentially to the sea:

250 homes in Nashua, NH are destroyed by a brush fire that turned into an urban conflagaration:

A fire in Glastonbury, later put at around 2,500 acres, would burn five miles in length from it’s origin, and at one point reach four miles wide. Being fought by 1,000 men. “Small” fires burning 60 to 150 acres destroyed buildings in Newtown & Windsor. Another 1,000 acres in Bristol. And a 2,500 more acres in New Britain / Southington / Plainville. So a 1,000 men…that’s what, a request for 40 strike teams today? And oh by the way, we have two more fires of this size within 20 miles of here, too…oh I’d love to be a fly on the wall when that request arrives at the DEMHS.

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, 1,500 acres was burning by Marlborough and 2,000 acres in Russel, two of the “20 bad and 75 minor” fires that day:

Niantic was busy trying to protect their cottages from a brush fire:

I only got the last half of this article on New London County…multiple fires in Waterford with hundreds fighting them, Gungywamp in Groton, 2,500 acres in Preston, Ledyard, and North Stonington:

On the sixth comes an article that would have folks throw a fit today:

Finally, at the risk of pulling a Ron Popeil and going, “But wait, there’s more!”

Connecticut’s first state forester, Austin Hawes, would later place the total acreage in Connecticut that burned in this first week of May, 1930 at around 25,000 acres. And they were actually kind of pleased by that — the last bad year of 1922 had seen 80,000 acres burn.

Washington County, RI would see some 30,000 acres burn. An article up above already mentioned the 3,000 acre fire in Westerly. North of Westerly there were two more fires that burned along the Connecticut and Rhode Island borders, in Rhode Island alone one consumed 10,000 acres and the other 12,000.

The worse of these ignited around Glasgo, CT (Griswold by the Voluntown town line) and burned all the way to Nooseneck Hill Road — today’s R.I. Route 3, or spitting distance from where I-95 crosses the state today. The proximity of the two big fires, along with the spotting that was occurring, it’s quite likely they were a single fire and/or merged along the way.

This same fire is described several times in various histories of the Yawgood Scout Reservation, such as this one:

The plateau was the place where Chief Williams and “Gus” Anthony had a dangerous encounter with the great forest fire, as described in the second edition of The Story of the Yawgoog Trails:

Chief Williams and Gus Anthony stood on this plateau on Sunday afternoon, May 3, 1930 amidst the blinding smoke and falling embers and heard the roar of the great forest fire that came sweeping down from the Beach Pond area six miles [10 kilometers] away. “The fire roared like an express train as the giant white pines exploded into flames like torches.” Chief and Gus ran for their lives back down the trail toward Rathom Lodge (Williams and Tracy).

(There may some exaggeration going on — Beach Pond is 3 miles due north of Yawgoog, maybe 4 to the far northwest corner of the pond. Or the origin was considerably behind Beach Pond, either north or west of it and Beach Pond was used simply as a convenient land mark)

From the August, 14 2005 Providence Journal:

Byline: John Kostrzewa

Aug. 14–HOPKINTON — AFTER 75 YEARS, THE GREAT FIRE’S LESSONS LIVE ON: The Great Fire of 1930 burned a terrible chapter into the history of Camp Yawgoog.

It was a tragedy and a natural disaster.

The fire destroyed all but 50 acres of the Boy Scout camp set deep in the woods of South County. The devastation drove the birds and ground animals from the blackened and desolate landscape.

The sounds of life disappeared.

While the story of the Great Fire is a dark memory from Scouting’s past, it also is a story about hope, turning disaster into triumph and rallying for a common cause.

Mostly, it’s about Scout spirit that today still burns brightly at Yawgoog.

Here’s what happened 75 years ago this summer.

The winter and spring of 1930 were among the driest on record. The lack of snowfall and rain reduced streams to trickles. The water level in Yawgoog Pond dropped several feet.

Back then, Scouting in Rhode Island was still in its infancy. Most people had never heard of Yawgoog.

But two early Scout leaders, J. Harold “Chief” Williams and H. Cushman “Gus” Anthony, envisioned the wooded area as a future summer camp for boys and began to develop the property the new organization acquired.

They cleared some land for tents and erected a mess hall and headquarters.

During the first weekend in May 1930, Williams and Anthony were leading a training session for Scout leaders at Yawgoog when the fire warden came into camp. He warned that a fire had broken out well to the west, in Connecticut, and was spreading. He told them to be on the lookout.

Williams and Anthony smelled the smoke the next morning, as soon as they poked their heads out of their tents. They sent a team of campers and local volunteers with buckets, brooms and rakes to set up firebreaks at the edge of camp.

They walked west through the campground until they saw three huge columns of smoke on the horizon.

The fire, whipped by strong winds, approached with a terrifying roar. The thick smoke overtook them. The heat seared the buttons on their shirts.

They were forced to retreat and decided the only parts of camp they might save were the main buildings.

Anthony climbed to the roof of the lodge at the camp called Three Point and sprayed the roof and walls with water from a garden hose. Other adult leaders pushed their cars into the pond to escape the embers.

The fire swept along Yawgoog Pond and through the campground. Flames surrounded them, but Williams, Anthony and the others saved the lodge.

The next morning, the fire broke out on the far side of Yawgoog Pond, across from the camp. The fire crept along the shore and then leaped to Phillips Island. The Scout leaders watched the giant pines and white birches on the island ignite like torches.

Still, it was not over. The blaze continued the third day along Wincheck Pond at the opposite end of the camp.

When the fire finally died out, Williams and Anthony hiked through what was left of Yawgoog. Tent platforms, several cabins, even the docks had been destroyed. Charred tree trunks and rubble, still-smoldering, were visible for acres.

It was Anthony who first noticed the silence that had settled over the camp. The wildlife had fled, seeking sanctuary from the fire.

Standing in the black ashes, a foot deep in places, Williams and Anthony looked out at what was left of their vision.

“It was heartbreaking,” Williams said.

But he also saw the opportunity. He saw the chance to pull together a fledgling organization of troops scattered throughout the state to work on a common goal.

The fire had been front-page news in the daily papers. With Rhode Islanders focused on the damage, Williams put out the call and began to build a network of Scouting supporters in business, industry, government and the media. They all agreed to pitch in.

“We began at once to think of reforestation,” Williams said.

Two weeks after the fire, on an early Sunday morning, 500 Scouts and leaders from 79 troops from across Rhode Island arrived at the gates to Yawgoog. Each troop was assigned a section of camp and given an initial batch of 50 seedlings purchased from a nursery in Maine.

In a single, long day, the Scouts and volunteers planted 25,000, five-year-old white pine seedlings over 250 acres.

When the Scouts finished, a light rain blessed their work.

“Mother Nature has begun to heal the blackened wounds,” Williams said.

Fourteen months later, in July 1931, judges, politicians, business executives, editors, benefactors, Scouts and adult volunteers gathered at Camp Yawgoog.

They were there to dedicate the Bucklin Memorial, the huge, stone and wood-beamed building that serves as camp headquarters. But the talk was about the trees. The softwood pines planted by the Scouts grew among the hardwoods that had sprung back to life.

Federal forestry agents said it was the single largest reforestation effort in the history of Rhode Island — a model for others to follow.

And walking through camp, they all heard the sounds of life again.

Since the Great Fire, Yawgoog has become a familiar name to Rhode Islanders and one of the premier camps in the country.

Scouting has grown, too. But there also have been more tragedies, especially this summer.

During the national jamboree last month in Virginia that attracted 40,000 Scouts, four leaders were electrocuted setting up camp. Later, 300 Scouts there suffered heat exhaustion. In a separate incident elsewhere, a Scout from Utah was struck by lightning.

And then, Yawgoog itself was closed for 12 days after a contagious stomach virus sickened more than 100 Scouts.

Last Sunday, after a fresh scrubbing, Yawgoog reopened. About 800 Scouts spent a great week earning merit badges, making friends, learning to live as a community and having fun.

On the same trail hiked by William and Anthony to inspect the devastation from the Great Fire, the Scouts may have seen the marker for the reforestation, or heard the story told around the campfire.

It’s a pretty good lesson for Scouts and for that matter, for all of us.

John Kostrzewa, business editor, spent last week as a volunteer at Camp Yawgoog.

To see more of the The Providence Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.projo.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Providence Journal, R.I.