Thousands of acres burned by wildfires
Fire departments throughout Alabama, including the northwest portion of the state, have been on high alert recently as the temperatures begin to climb and winds begin to blow.
It’s the time of the year when homeowners and landowners begin to clean up around their yards and land to allow for the arrival of spring flowers and grass to change from its rust color to a bright green.
Typically, that means landowners begin to collect the dead material and begin to burn it.
And in conditions with high winds, a simple pile of brush and limbs burning can turn into to a large grass or woods fire in a matter of minutes, according to Kelly Aday, who is president of the Colbert County Volunteer Firefighters Association.
“We’ve heard it before. A landowner will be burning a small pile and go inside to use the bathroom and come back and then need to call the fire department because that fire has spread,” Aday said.
The Alabama Forestry Commission last week halted the issuance of burn permits given the large number of wildfires throughout the state.
As of Thursday night, the commission reported there had been 130 wildfires reported to have burned about 3,000 acres across the state.
Calhoun County in east Alabama had two large wildfires (550 acres and 207 acres). At least two homes were destroyed by the 207-acre fire.
Lowndes County in the southern central part of the state reported a 253acre wildfire. Three other wildfires which have burned more than 100 acres have been reported in Perry, Pike and St. Clair counties.
The Alabama Forestry Commission reported that 60 wildfires were reported throughout the state on Wednesday.
Last week, volunteer firefighters in Colbert and Lauderdale counties have worked more than a dozen grass/woods fires.
“I think people in Colbert and Lauderdale counties have been pretty careful,” said Chris Brewer, who is an Alabama Forestry Commission forestry specialist. “I may be jinxing our fire departments by saying that. So far, the fire departments in Lauderdale County have been able to handle their fires without asking for assistance from forestry.”
March and October typically are the busiest months of the year for fire departments and members of the Alabama Forestry Commission, Brewer said.
“The temperatures are getting up there and people want to clean up their yards, so that means people want to burn brush piles,” he said. “I hope people continue to be careful when they do burn. They need to make sure not to burn when the winds are up.”
“If you are going to burn, stay with it at all times until it is out,” Aday said. “It’s like the old Smokey Bear ad once said, ‘If it’s too hot to touch, it’s not out.’ That still stands true.”
