Ice Storm damage in Central Mass
Today’s Worcester Telegram & Gazette has a very well done article (archive) discussing the potential impact on forest fires of the December ice storm.
David Celino, the state’s chief forest fire warden, said weather is the key factor and changes from week to week, citing a recent seven-day span when very dry air, a steady breeze and dry fuel on the ground created optimum brush fire conditions.
What makes this spring’s brush fire season, and those for the next several years, unusual is the tree damage from the ice storm.
Mr. Celino acknowledged the dual challenge of safety and logistics.
“There is the obvious issue of trying to walk through woods over downed limbs to reach a fire. And there’s the other issue of broken-off limbs that are weakened and hanging that could come down at any time, causing injury, he said.
“Next fall, next spring, the fall of 2010, that’s when the ice storm damage begins to pose a fuel issue, as the broken limbs, that are now still green, dry out and add to the problem of fuel on the forest floor,” he said.
Ashburnham Fire Chief Paul J. Zbikowski said his department has been fortunate so far, in that there haven’t been any brush fire calls “too deep into the woods.”
“The reports I’ve been getting are that what we see along the edge of the roads is nothing compared to what we’d be likely to encounter in the deep woods, say in the state forest. There is debris everywhere on the ground, and entire areas are impassable,” he said
“One of our priorities is to get our dirt fire roads opened and passable as quickly as possible. That at least gets us closer to the fire. Once we get off the road and into the woods, we’re trying to navigate around downed limbs and trees while carrying 5 gallons of water in a backpack pump,” Chief Zbikowski said.
I’ve already touched on this specific topic, organized under Disturbances, Ice Storm.
