VIRGINIA
TECH PROFESSOR CAUTIONS
ABOUT FIRES PROMPTED BY
DROUGHT
BLACKSBURG, Sept. 7, 2002
- Shepard Zedaker, professor
of forestry management at
Virginia Tech's College
of Natural Resources, has
returned to Virginia after
two weeks of fighting the
Biscuit wildfire.
Oregon
and California's largest
fire of the century began
in a small wilderness area.
The flames eventually rose
to over 100 feet high. More
than 533,000 acres in Oregon
were burned by mid-August,
an area slightly smaller
than Rhode Island. Zedaker
spent 14-16 hour days fighting
the fire. "It was hard on
people's respiratory systems
for miles," Zedaker says.
"The fire shut down an airport
over 25 air miles away;
you couldn't see over a
half a mile in front of
you."
"For Southwest Virginia,
the record setting drought
sets us up for a difficult
fall fire season," explains
Zedaker. "Although a fire
the complexity of the Biscuit
fire is capable of occurring
here, it is not likely Virginia
could produce a fire of
that size because we do
not have Oregon's large
unpopulated areas."
"Having
brick or composite sidings
and roofs is the first step
to fire proofing a house,
but it does not mean a house
is immune to fire problems,"
emphasizes Zedaker. The
United States Fire Administration
(USFA) suggests when designing
or building a new home,
homeowners should consider
choosing a firewise location
- a location far away from
heavy vegetation. They need
to develop a defensible
space around the structure
and select fire-resistive
building materials.
"This
means getting rid of over
hanging trees and shrubbery
near the house," explains
Zedaker, "and moving any
dry foliage away from the
house, as well as keeping
grass low." Wildfire experts
suggest homeowners use asphalt
shingles, slate or clay
tile, or metal to reduce
the danger to their home.
"Finally, if you see a wildfire,
call 911, don't assume someone
else already has," notes
the USFA.
"Water restrictions have
been hard on Virginia this
season. Without 10-15 more
inches of rain, severe fires
become a major possibility,"
Zedaker cautions. The Virginia
Tech forestry professor
also points out that smokers
need to be especially careful.
"It just takes one cigarette
thrown out the window to
destroy thousands of acres."
For
more information visit http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/fires/
wfire_pop/practice/firesafety.html
or other wildfire safety
websites.
