Tornado Follow up Articles
Couple articles were in Saturday’s Worcester Telegram & Gazette:
Plans shape up to deal with post-storms fire threat
Emergency traffic paths clearedBy 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
