Fire Alert Issued

When weather conditions exist that may cause a degradation of air quality, unusually large wildfires or an unmanageable number of wildfires, the Alabama State Forester may issue a Fire Alert for specified counties.  This allows the Alabama Forestry Commission to restrict the issuing of Burning permits.  On most days permits are issued to everyone who meets the requirements of the permit law.  During a Fire Alert, permits are only issued to individuals with burning experience and above average control equipment.

Due to the lack of rain in recent weeks, the Alabama Forestry Commission issued a fire alert yesterday for 14 Alabama counties. The alert covers Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Escambia, Fayette, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Mobile, Shelby, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington and Winston counties. Since March 1, a total of 780 wildfires covering about 18,667 acres have occurred in Alabama.
During a fire alert, it is important to note that fires start easily and spread at a fast rate. All fine dead fuels ignite readily and fires start easily from most causes. Unattended campfires are likely to escape. Fires spread rapidly and short-distance spotting is common. High-intensity burning may develop on slopes, or in concentrations of fine fuel. Fire may become serious and difficult to control unless they are hit hard and fast while small.

The bottom line is that you need to be very careful if you are doing any outdoor burning during the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, we really don’t expect any major rain event through the end of March, and conditions are not expected to improve anytime soon. Hopefully the rains will come to Alabama in April, which is one of our wettest months of the year, and is the in the middle of the spring tornado season. But, March is usually the wettest month of the year, and we have only received 1.01” in Birmingham all month.

Category: Pre-November 2010 Posts