High winds + no snow = more fire

MAT-SU — This isn’t the kind of warning the Valley is used to hearing this time of year, but fire officials say everyone needs to be careful when starting fires right now.

“I would ask that everybody be very cautious with burning right now. The grass is dead and very dry, and with any wind the fires can spread very rapidly even though the ground is frozen,” said Michael Keenan, Central Mat-Su Fire Department assistant chief.

Keenan was reacting to a spate of fires that began last Wednesday with a rekindled burn pile running up a hill on Hemlock Drive.

“That escaped from an older burn pit (where) they thought the fire was out,” Keenan said.

Then there was one Friday where someone burning trash let the fire get away from him and torch 4/10 of an acre and two vehicles.

On Saturday, firefighters from Central, Palmer and Sutton fire departments went to a wildfire there.

“That was an escaped burn barrel that took an outbuilding and a couple of vehicles and 2/10 of an acre of wildlands,” he said.

There were a couple of smaller fires as well. Nearly all of the problems have been wind-related.

“If it’s windy, don’t burn,” Keenan said. And if it’s not, have water on hand just in case.

“A couple of fires we had, people were burning early in the day and the wind picked up and they lost control of it,” Keenan said.

A good way to stay safe, the assistant chief said, is to follow the guidelines laid out on the standard burn permit.

“If you’re going to burn, you need to follow all of the requirements in the permits. Even though permits aren’t required this time of year, you still have to follow all of those regulations,” he said.

Burn permits aren’t required now because, in most years, burning isn’t really a problem at this time of year.

“Typically it isn’t, but it can be,” Keenan said. Sometimes wildfire season stays late, and sometimes it comes early. “Back in 2003, March of 2003, when we had a very low snowfall winter, we were fighting wildland fires in March.”

He said he’s aware of the irony that this winter of all winters should start out with a resurgence of wildfires.

“Even though we had all that rain during the summer, in the fall the ground is frozen, but all the grass is dead and it’s very dry and it’s very receptive to fire,” Keenan said.

Which is problematic when you consider that cold weather makes people complacent about fire.

“It’s all about the fuel being available and, if it’s not covered with snow it’s dead and very dry and very susceptible to fire,” Keenan said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.