PSA - fire danger

[The Heretic]

Fire danger rating is not high, but IMO it is getting there.

Weather is warm, humidity is low (19%), windy out of the east.

The last time weather was like this (last September) we had wildfires.

Granted, the fuel load is still quite wet because it hasn't had a all summer to dry out, there have been a lot of "vegetation fire" alerts today (I get them on my phone) and people are burning stuff that has fallen over the winter and things they are trimming/weeding/etc.

So be careful out there and keep an eye peeled. Please.

Read More

 

[kmk1012]

Wildfire six miles up the road from my house today. Lots of fire equipment driving passed our house. Turned out to be a vegetation fire only but still an eye opener as it's so early in the year.

 

[L84Cabo]

Good reminder. A rake, shovel, and fire extinguisher should be part of your standard shooting gear if you're shooting out in the woods/sticks...and especially if you're shooting steel.

 

[Hop Sing]

If people would rake their forests none of this would be an issue.

 

[The Heretic]

If people would rake their forests none of this would be an issue.

I actually do rake my forest to remove dead limbs/etc. as fuel - also so that when I am walking thru the forest I am not tripping over the limbs or twisting my ankles stepping on them.

I currently have a huge pile of limbs/etc. that I have dragged out of my forest - when the weather moderates I will burn that pile. I also keep the underbrush and grass cut down.

But my wooded acreage is 5-6 acres (the rest is clear cut) not 5-6 million acres, I only work on the acreage that is relatively flat and nearest the house, not the steep portions along the gully, so that cuts what I work on by more than half, about a third of it - so it is manageable for me. It reduces the risk of fires (wild or human caused) but doesn't eliminate it.

"Raking" a forest is generally not feasible for most forests. I just try to keep a small portion of mine relatively clean closest to the house. I gathered some limbs yesterday and noticed they were very dry already. The wind is blowing again today and that knocks even more limbs down. It can be dangerous to be in the forest when the wind is blowing:

 

[bigbearbear]

Its been pretty windy here too, and very dry. My neighbors are probably wondering why on earth am I watering my lawn, but I just did a lawn leveling and reseeded. The dry/windy condition is making me water the lawn frequently to keep the seeds wet.

 

[Hop Sing]

No rain in sight on today's forecast. This ain't boding well.

 

[The Heretic]

Its been pretty windy here too, and very dry. My neighbors are probably wondering why on earth am I watering my lawn, but I just did a lawn leveling and reseeded. The dry/windy condition is making me water the lawn frequently to keep the seeds wet.

I am still getting limbs falling. I've got a big pile of dead wood and limbs that grows every day. Not safe to burn it when the wind is blowing even though the grass is green. I will wait until some rain is forecast.

 

[The Heretic]

Red Flag Warning issued for much of Northwest Oregon

Much of northwestern Oregon will be under a Red Flag Warning on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Starting Friday morning, the warning will last into the evening, from 11 a. m. until 10 p. m. Red Flag Warnings are issued when warm temperatures, combined with low humidity and...

katu.com

 

[Hop Sing]

Earliest red flag warning ever.

 

[The Heretic]

An enormous Sequoia tree is still smoldering and emitting smoke months after California's devastating wildfires

Embers from the 2020 Castle Fire continued to smolder from inside the tree, which could be 1,000 years old, despite rain and snow.

www.yahoo.com

The wildfire was in August 2020

 

[Ura-Ki]

It's gonna be a long hot summer, our snow pack didn't get anywhere close to normal, and the rains haven't done anything to help! I think we're in for another bad fire year in the West!
For those in the danger zones, now is the time to take all the steps to secure your homes and property, fire can only burn if there is fuel! Clean out those gutters and clear back the vegitation as much as possible, and if you can, get as much water stashed as you can, you might not have any during a fire!

 

[The Heretic]

It's gonna be a long hot summer, our snow pack didn't get anywhere close to normal, and the rains haven't done anything to help! I think we're in for another bad fire year in the West!
For those in the danger zones, now is the time to take all the steps to secure your homes and property, fire can only burn if there is fuel! Clean out those gutters and clear back the vegitation as much as possible, and if you can, get as much water stashed as you can, you might not have any during a fire!

Neighbor is clearing brush around his house as I type this, when that is done the machinery will start work on some of my property in the same area between our houses. Some of it was cleared before (2014) but has grown up since. I was somewhat neglectful in not keeping it clear. I tried a bit this weekend but it was too much and the ground too rough for my small walk behind flail mower.

It is still quite green up here, but we had a dry spring and we will probably have a dry summer like last year. Hopefully we won't have any more idiots like we did last year who started a weenie roast in the woods in middle of extremely high fire danger warnings.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Neighbor is clearing brush around his house as I type this, when that is done the machinery will start work on some of my property in the same area between our houses. Some of it was cleared before (2014) but has grown up since. I was somewhat neglectful in not keeping it clear. I tried a bit this weekend but it was too much and the ground too rough for my small walk behind flail mower.

It is still quite green up here, but we had a dry spring and we will probably have a dry summer like last year. Hopefully we won't have any more idiots like we did last year who started a weenie roast in the woods in middle of extremely high fire danger warnings.

How is your water situation? Do you have good volume and pressure?

 

[The Heretic]

How is your water situation? Do you have good volume and pressure?

Yes - with outside spigots, I have good volume and water pressure for a home well; when I measured it at one spigot about 70 yards from the house, I have about 20-30 GPM. Inside the house, not so much as I think the calcium in the water has caused restrictions - inside the house the water is used a lot more.

 

[kmk1012]

Yes - with outside spigots, I have good volume and water pressure for a home well; when I measured it at one spigot about 70 yards from the house, I have about 20-30 GPM. Inside the house, not so much as I think the calcium in the water has caused restrictions - inside the house the water is used a lot more.

Do you have backup power for when the power co shuts the grid down to cut liability? We do on a small scale but well isint wired, it is in the works though. Just something of a reality to think of. It would really suck to do everything right, be prepared and then have to drop and go because the well goes down. You sound very prepared though, just a reminder for us other slackers.

 

[kmk1012]

Now, I've got to go to bed, my alarm goes off at 1:30 AM. We are taking my daughter to the Junior Olympics to compete in precision shooting for her first time tomorrow! Wish us luck!

 

[Ura-Ki]

I always recommend a above ground swimming pool, not so much for the obvious, but because the volume of water plus the pools filter and pump assemblies can be ran from a reasonable sized gen set, and many of those pumps put out a lot of pressure and volume in back flush mode! This is especially useful if you might have power outages due to the power lines being down or shut down, and in areas where water is not allowed to be cashed or collected like Oregon has in some areas!

 

[The Heretic]

Do you have backup power for when the power co shuts the grid down to cut liability? We do on a small scale but well isint wired, it is in the works though. Just something of a reality to think of. It would really suck to do everything right, be prepared and then have to drop and go because the well goes down. You sound very prepared though, just a reminder for us other slackers.

I have some backup power for the house, but not for the well pump which is wired separately from the house.

If I were to stay here (I am thinking of selling) I would have an electrician come in and wire up a connection for the main meter for the house (which is where the well pump is wired) instead of the connection I have going into the house itself.

 

[The Heretic]

I always recommend a above ground swimming pool, not so much for the obvious, but because the volume of water plus the pools filter and pump assemblies can be ran from a reasonable sized gen set, and many of those pumps put out a lot of pressure and volume in back flush mode! This is especially useful if you might have power outages due to the power lines being down or shut down, and in areas where water is not allowed to be cashed or collected like Oregon has in some areas!

Neighbor is talking 5K gallon tank by his shop for the FD to reload from, and I am thinking a fire high pressure/volume pump with a 250 gallon tank on a skid that the neighborhood could buy & use for slash piles and small fires, maybe along with some fire protectant to spray on houses. The pump/tank would cost maybe $500 per household. Last September scared the hell out of all of us - that was too close; had the wind been normal the fire would have burned towards our properties instead of away from them.