Posted: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 12:00 am
2008 is the fourth consecutive year that Gov. Kulongoski has declared May 4-10 as "Wildfire Awareness Week." This week is set aside each spring to remind everyone that we live in a beautiful, but high wildfire risk state.
Living here comes with a price. And if we're going to "Keep Oregon Green," we need to do a better job of acting responsibly when living in or recreating in the forests or rangelands. And speaking of being responsible, backyard debris burning, which includes burn piles and burn barrels, is the leading careless human behavior that causes wildfires in Oregon (273 fires burned 1,828 acres in 2007).
Spring is the perfect time to remove dead vegetation and limb up trees to reduce the threat from wildfire. By following a few simple steps to get rid of brush and yard debris, we can all rest a bit easier. The Keep Oregon Green Association recommends chipping your debris. But if you must burn, do so responsibly.
Before burning, check with the local fire district to see if a burning permit is required.
In many rural areas, pile burning and burn barrels is a viable way to get rid of debris - tree branches, brush cuttings, needles and leaves. And with proper site preparation and forethought, people can burn this sort of debris with reasonable safety.
Choose a site where flames, radiant heat and airborne embers won't set nearby vegetation on fire. Horizontal clearance should be twice the height of the pile. This fire trail should be scraped to mineral soil to prevent the fire from traveling outside the pile. Vertical clearance needs to be at least three times the height of the pile. A burning pile of tree branches will send visible flames several feet into the air above the pile, but the invisible heat influence will go up even higher. Make sure there are no overhanging tree branches and no power lines anywhere above the pile.
Keep burn piles small, and make sure that your burn barrel has adequate ventilation and a one-fourth-inch mesh screen cover. Put the smallest twigs and branches - which will ignite quickly - on the bottom of the pile. Keep leaves, needles and bark in an adjacent pile so they can be added to the burning pile after a vigorous heat source has been created. It is illegal to burn plastic, tires and just about anything else that isn't from a tree or shrub.
Never burn on windy days. Make sure that your charged garden hose reaches all the way around the burn site. Keep the perimeter hosed down during the burning process. Also, park a shovel near to where you'll be burning.
Taking the time to plan an open burning project and equipping yourself with basic fire suppression tools before lighting the match will dramatically reduce the chance of a burn pile fire getting out of control.
For more information on safe debris burning and other important wildfire prevention tips, visit KeepOregon Green.org, or call 503-945-7499.
Tom Fields is a member of the Wildfire Awareness Week steering committee and a public affairs officer for Douglas Forest Protective Association.