Despite last week’s rain, the region—and the state—is still in a drought. The dry conditions have local fire officials on heightened alert for the risk of wildfire. As WCAI’s Kathryn Eident reports, officials are staffing fire towers and taking other steps to help prevent dangerous brush fires.
The fire tower on the edge of Route 6 rises well above the tree line, offering a sweeping view of Cape Cod Bay on one side, and the hills of Martha’s Vineyard on the other. In between, it’s a sea of green. State Fire Warden Josh Nigro covers the Cape and Islands. He says the green tree canopy is a little misleading—the ground below no longer has any moisture. Any fire that starts in those woods could burn hot and fast.
"The risks of wildfire is still very high," Nigro said. "If I look at the KBDI, which is how we measure drought, we’re still in the 600s. which means the fire can burn down six or seven inches."
The canopy also hides another risk: structure fire. The Cape has already had several large wildfires over the summer, including one that burned about 120 acres at Joint Base Cape Cod, and one at Hawksnest State Park in Harwich that burned for several days. Luckily, no homes or businesses were involved, and no one was hurt.
But the risk continues. The drought isn’t expected to end any time soon, as the National Weather Service predicts more dry conditions throughout the fall. And Nigro says that without a sustained, gentle rain that can penetrate the ground, we may not see relief until the first snow.
"One reason for that is that once the leaves start dropping, these fuels are going to start drying a lot quicker," he said.
It’s conditions like these that inspired county officials to issue a regional wildfire preparedness plan in 2012. It identifies hundreds of pockets of land that pose a fire risk, ranging from small conservation areas to places like the Barnstable State Forest. The plan also offers suggestions for building fire roads, removing dead trees and bushes, and other fire prevention methods.
Cape Cod Cooperative Extension Director Michael Maguire says the trickiest part for some towns is finding the time and money to do the work.
"You have to manage these properties," he said. "Some are apt to be more fire-prone than others so it’s a balancing act."
He says the plan took years to develop and implement, but the payoff is worth it.
"If we hadn’t had done that work, the number of areas that would be at risk would be far greater, and we’d be looking at potentially more dangerous fires," he said.
The plan also helps officials like State Fire Warden Josh Nigro coordinate resources across the Cape, such as the region’s eight fire towers. Nigro staffs several of them each day depending on the conditions.
A watch-stander recently spotted several small fires in the Barnstable State Forest. The fires were contained to several acres, but they could have spread throughout the 70-acre parcel and to nearby homes. Nigro brings me over to show me the damage.
We crunch down a newly-built fire road— a product of the regional wildfire preparedness plan. Live and dead pine and oak trees flank each side. Nigro calls these “100-hour fuels” because they will burn if exposed to 100 hours of direct sunlight. He points to a tree on the ground. It’s charred black—mainly from the inside out. He says the wind can turn dead trees like this one into virtual flame throwers.
"The fire would go up inside the tree, burn the center of the tree and pop out of some of these holes and just fling embers into the woods," he said.
He says we’ve had so much sun this summer he’s now worried about “one thousand hour fuels.”
"Which is our big stump dumps, mulch piles, those are actually dry," he said. "That's because they’re actually getting those 1,000 hours of direct sunlight without rain. So everything is now ready to burn."
While he says fire officials will continue to be vigilant—residents need to do their part, too. He says they can start by taking a look at their own properties to see if they’re safe from wildfire.
"Removing some of the larger brush from around the house, keeping a garden hose attached, nonflammable shingles and roof materials—things like that," he said.
Because it may be a while yet before we see a gentle rain or even the season’s first snowflakes.
