(WJAC) — A wave of brush and wildfires have swept across parts of our region recently. This comes after a particularly dry summer, with some parts of our region seeing drought-like conditions. But does this rain give firefighters a bit of relief?
It was only Sunday when 6 News last spoke to Pinecroft Volunteer Fire Department's deputy chief about brush fire safety. In the past five days, he says they've responded to four brush fires.
"And that's all in the last week, actually," says the deputy chief, Caleb Keller, "in a matter of like four or five days, they were boom, boom, boom, boom, boom."
Brush and wildfires lately have burnt down acres upon acres of land: like the one in Cameron county on Saturday, or the full-on forest fire in Elk County on Wednesday.
MORE | 1 injured as crews from multiple counties fight large forest fire in Elk County: 911
While Keller tells us this rain comes as a relief for them, he says it's only temporary.
"The rain helps the set of them and also help to kind of wet the ground down a little bit. As long as the wind stays down, once the rain's done, everything will slowly start to soak down and it will help prevent brush fires at least next week or so."
He especially emphasizes the risks that the wind creates.
He recalls how, recently, one man "had a campfire going, threw some trash on there, and embers flew up in the air and into the woods and lit all the dry leaves and stuff on fire, and it just, it just with the, the weather conditions were just right that day and the wind conditions were just right. It just took off."
Now, common sense would dictate that if leaves are wet, they can't catch fire. However, Keller says wet leaves don't guarantee a fire won't ignite.
"The problem is, with it coming down that hard and fast, it's gonna mostly just wash away, but it will wet down the top layer of leaves itself," he explains. "And the problem is, the wind comes after the rain, it blows all the leaves away and everybody thinks, 'Oh, we're good. It raining and everything's wet.'"
"Well, when the wind blows, all the wet leaves away and leaves the dry leaves underneath you got just the same as if it didn't rain."
Keller also warns that this might not be the end of brush fire season. He adds that if you want to have a campfire and aren't sure if it will spark something bigger, to wet the area surrounding it, keep a garden hose handy, and possibly call your local fire department or county dispatch center to keep them informed — just in case.
ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfm7azsYydnKmZoqm6prrTZqmaoZ5ir7O1zaCqZqqVobamsoyapKKcXZe%2Ftr%2FHZp2iqpWoeqPB02amp6SpYsGmuc%2BoqZqqmaHG