By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Texas Forest Service officials said many people will be burning debris or brush piles, but caution people not to leave a fire until it is fully extinguished. — Staff photo

March 23, 2006 - Even with significant rainfall in North and East Texas, the Texas Forest Service wants citizens to remain cautious when it comes to outdoor burning.

Mahlon Hammetter, a TFS fire prevention specialist, said pastures are finally beginning to green, especially with the three to 10 inches of rain that fell in the regions over the March 18-19 weekend.

But just the week before, Hammetter pointed out, “We’ve had fires all over East Texas.”

Also, during the week of March 13, the Texas Panhandle was under seige with wildfire. Weather conditions changed dramatically in a week’s time though. On March 20, the National Weather Service had issued a winter storm watch for that area, which include the possibility of blowing snow with accumulation of up to five inches.

With the recent heavy rains, Hammetter said he has seen or heard reports of several wildfires in the North and East area.

“There’s folks doing pasture burning,” he said. He said large pasture fires have caused a lot of damage and 11 deaths throughout the state and the threat in East Texas could be worse.

“We’ve got a lot more folks in close to the vegetation,” he explained of the living conditions in East Texas. “So if we aren’t careful, then we’re going to lose more homes and put more lives in danger.”

He said those planning large pasture control burns, or burning large piles of trash and debris that has piled up, should practice safe burning. Field burning should especially be postponed. For other controlled fires, Hammetter said there are several preventative measures that should be taken.

“Establish a wide control break around outdoor fires,” he recommended. Disk lines around the fire should be clean down to the soil and wide enough to keep the fire from jumping the break with high winds. 

“The higher the winds and higher the vegetation, the wider it needs to be,” Hammetter explained.

In addition he said keeping sprayers with water and a bulldozer can help control a fire if it gets out of hand.

He said debris fires have been a major cause of destruction and should also be protected with a firebreak. “Two or three (disk lines) around brush piles, at least as wide as the pile is tall, if not one-and-a-half to two times as wide.”

Trash should be burned in barrels with a metal screen to keep burning material from escaping.

Natural factors should also be considered when preparing for burning. “Certainly be aware of the weather,” Hammetter said. “Gusty winds are more likely to get a fire to escape.”

Gusty winds can often dislodge burning materials and carry them out of the safe area.

Hammetter said a common mistake is people leaving fires unattended “thinking that they aren’t going anywhere.”

He said fires should be cool enough to touch before they are left, and should be stirred up to make sure nothing underneath is still burning or warm.

“Don’t leave a fire until it’s dead out,” he said.

If a fire is not out entirely or begins spreading, Hammetter said people should “be quick to call the fire department, rather than put it out themselves.”

He said human life takes priority over property.

To decrease the chance of fire problems, Hammetter, on March 15, said the best tool is patience.

“It’ll be safer once we get this hopeful rain,” he said prior to the significant rainfall over the March 18-19 weekend. But even with rains, Hammetter said people should be cautions. “You can have wet ground but dead grass can still carry a fire.

“We’re getting some greening, but it’s not complete.”

Hammetter said burning should be placed on hold until greening is complete, and even then periodic rains will be necessary to keep the fire danger down.

Until then Hammetter said, “Have patience. Just because the burn ban (in some counties) has been dropped, don’t assume all danger is gone.”

Many areas in East Texas remain under a burn ban. A map of burn ban locations can be found at the Texas Interagency Coordination Center’s website http://tfsfrp.tamu.edu/wildfires/DecBan.jpg. Fire maps and fire outlooks are available at http://www.tamu.edu/ticc/predictive_services/fire_outlooks.htm.