Wildfires continue to scorch Alabama; more than 1,200 fires have broken out since start of September
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Oct 20, 2010, 4:54:45 AM10/20/10
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Perilous Times and Climate Change
Wildfires continue to scorch Alabama; more than 1,200 fires have broken out since start of September
Published: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 7:30 AM Updated: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 7:37 AM
Jeff Hansen -- The Birmingham News Jeff Hansen -- The Birmingham News
Also contributing: Kent Faulk -- The Birmingham News
Alabama is burning.
Since the start of September, 1,203 wildfires have broken out in woods and fields across the state, burning more than 16 square miles of land.
As drought continues to parch most of Alabama, those wildfires have burned 11 homes and 74 other buildings, said Dan Jackson, forest operations division director for the Alabama Forestry Commission. Firefighters have been able to protect 978 other homes that were threatened by the fires.
"This fall is not the worst one, but I'd say it's in the top 10," Jackson said on Monday. "We've been having a lot of problems in Walker and Jefferson counties."
In the past seven days, Jefferson County has had seven wildfires that burned 110 acres, and Walker County had 15 fires that burned 117 acres.
Because of the tinder-dry woods this fall, all 67 counties of Alabama have been under a fire alert since Sept. 23, as ordered by State Forester Linda Casey. Outdoor burning is restricted during an alert.
Jackson said most of the wildfires have been in forested land, which covers two-thirds of Alabama.
"We work very well with volunteer fire departments, but when it gets into the woods, they can't reach it," he said. "We can go deeper into woods."
Forestry Commission firefighters build firebreaks using a small or medium bulldozer pulling a fire plow to stop the blazes.
Wildfires this fall are the worst in recent years. The years 2005 through 2008 averaged 365 fires each for the period Sept. 1 through Oct. 17, said Mike Kyser, spokesman for the commission -- less than a third of this year's number. And 2009, a very wet fall, had only 12 fires in that period.
But one danger has largely been absent, said Jackson -- the wind.
"The wind is what makes or breaks us," he said. "We can have super-low humidity and dry conditions, but if there's not a lot of wind, we can deal with the fires that come in."
What Jackson fears is a front that comes through with just a little rain, followed by a lot of wind. That happened during the worst wildfire season in memory, 1986-87.
"That one set the bar," Jackson said. "For 10 to 14 days in early November, we had strong wind."
Less than half an inch of rain has fallen in Birmingham since Sept. 1, and the dry spell isn't likely to end soon.
The best chance for rain this week in the metro area -- a 20 percent to 30 percent chance -- is today going into Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Mark Linhares, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the weather phenomenon known as La Nina is strengthening and the dry weather is likely to continue for the next several months. "It looks like it's going to get worse. .¤.¤. It will become drier," he said.
La Nina is a condition where there are cooler-than-normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, according to the weather service. That usually translates into dry and warmer conditions for Alabama, Linhares said.
Wildfires continue to scorch Alabama; more than 1,200 fires have broken out since start of September
Published: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 7:30 AM Updated: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 7:37 AM
Jeff Hansen -- The Birmingham News Jeff Hansen -- The Birmingham News
Also contributing: Kent Faulk -- The Birmingham News
Alabama is burning.
Since the start of September, 1,203 wildfires have broken out in woods and fields across the state, burning more than 16 square miles of land.
As drought continues to parch most of Alabama, those wildfires have burned 11 homes and 74 other buildings, said Dan Jackson, forest operations division director for the Alabama Forestry Commission. Firefighters have been able to protect 978 other homes that were threatened by the fires.
"This fall is not the worst one, but I'd say it's in the top 10," Jackson said on Monday. "We've been having a lot of problems in Walker and Jefferson counties."
In the past seven days, Jefferson County has had seven wildfires that burned 110 acres, and Walker County had 15 fires that burned 117 acres.
Because of the tinder-dry woods this fall, all 67 counties of Alabama have been under a fire alert since Sept. 23, as ordered by State Forester Linda Casey. Outdoor burning is restricted during an alert.
Jackson said most of the wildfires have been in forested land, which covers two-thirds of Alabama.
"We work very well with volunteer fire departments, but when it gets into the woods, they can't reach it," he said. "We can go deeper into woods."
Forestry Commission firefighters build firebreaks using a small or medium bulldozer pulling a fire plow to stop the blazes.
Wildfires this fall are the worst in recent years. The years 2005 through 2008 averaged 365 fires each for the period Sept. 1 through Oct. 17, said Mike Kyser, spokesman for the commission -- less than a third of this year's number. And 2009, a very wet fall, had only 12 fires in that period.
But one danger has largely been absent, said Jackson -- the wind.
"The wind is what makes or breaks us," he said. "We can have super-low humidity and dry conditions, but if there's not a lot of wind, we can deal with the fires that come in."
What Jackson fears is a front that comes through with just a little rain, followed by a lot of wind. That happened during the worst wildfire season in memory, 1986-87.
"That one set the bar," Jackson said. "For 10 to 14 days in early November, we had strong wind."
Less than half an inch of rain has fallen in Birmingham since Sept. 1, and the dry spell isn't likely to end soon.
The best chance for rain this week in the metro area -- a 20 percent to 30 percent chance -- is today going into Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Mark Linhares, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the weather phenomenon known as La Nina is strengthening and the dry weather is likely to continue for the next several months. "It looks like it's going to get worse. .¤.¤. It will become drier," he said.
La Nina is a condition where there are cooler-than-normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, according to the weather service. That usually translates into dry and warmer conditions for Alabama, Linhares said.
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