Prescribed fires.

DATE: 3/9/2005

CONTACT: Stephanie Beard, (843) 546-1013, ext. 232; slbeard@clemson.edu

WRITER: Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

March is Prescribed Fire Awareness Month

GEORGETOWN – There is a good reason that March was proclaimed to be Prescribed Fire Awareness Month by Gov. Mark Sanford.

“March is also the worst month for wild fires, most of them caused by humans burning yard debris on days that are too windy,” said Stephanie Beard, prescribed fire outreach and education coordinator at Clemson University’s Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science.

“Under windy conditions it is easy for a small fire to spread and get out of control, especially where lots of dry fuel litters the forest floor,” she said.

Before burning anything, Beard encourages South Carolinians to contact city and county officials to find out what kinds of outdoor burning are allowed, if any. Many cities and towns do not allow open burning of any kind within city limits.

Outside the city, individuals must contact the South Carolina Forestry Commission using a toll-free number to notify authorities of the intent to burn.

On days when weather conditions make outdoor burning unsafe, the S.C. Forestry Commission issues Red Flag Fire Alerts, which means outdoor burning should not be conducted.

A Red Flag Fire Alert is voluntary, but if a Burning Ban is issued, it overrides local statutes in the interest of public safety.

Beard’s advice for anyone burning yard debris is to never leave the fire unattended. If the fire hasn’t burned itself out by dark, extinguish it completely before going to bed.

“Do not burn on days that it is dry or windy,” she said. Keep close at hand tools you can use to extinguish a fire if it starts to spread. That includes rakes for removing surrounding dry vegetation, shovels for putting dirt on a fire to smother it, and a hose that can reach the fire. Make sure the hose is attached to a water source, and it is turned on.

While a wildfire can be disastrous, not all woods fires are bad.

The South Carolina Prescribed Fire Council, of which Beard is a member, is encouraging more forest landowners to use prescribed fire. Eliminating the accumulated fuel load under controlled conditions can reduce the chance of a disastrous burn if a wild fire does happen.

About 500,000 acres of South Carolina land is burned each year, but that is only about half the acreage that could benefit from prescribed fire.

“Prescribed fire is not only the most effective and economical protection against wildfires, but fire is actually essential to the survival of many plants and animals,” she said.

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