Wildfire season makes blazing debut

The fall wildfire season is only three days old but firefighters and foresters around the Shoals are already battling woods and grass fires.

"We're drying out real fast, and there's no rain in sight. It does not look real good," said Ted Kavich, chief of the Waterloo Volunteer Fire Department.

Kavich said a prolonged drought and windy days are creating prime conditions for wildfires.

A wildfire near Waterloo that scorched four acres Monday was sparked by embers that had been smoldering from a fire Saturday, he said.

"It's dry when ashes can burn for two days and still start a new fire," Kavich said. "I don't remember it being this dry and the fire danger so high going into the fall fire season."

The fall wildfire season in north Alabama runs Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. Coleen Vansant, information manager for the Alabama Forestry Commission, fears it will be a busy one for firefighters.

"Trees are already losing their leaves because of the dry weather," Vansant said. "There's lots of fuel on the forest floor available to burn. The potential for wildfires is as great as it has ever been in north Alabama."

After banning all outdoor burning this summer, the forestry commission has resumed issuing permits for fires to burn debris or clear land. It encourages anyone obtaining the permits to be extremely careful with any outdoor fire. Obtaining a burn permit does not exempt the person starting a fire from liability if it escapes control.

"If someone must burn, they need to do it early in the morning when humidity levels are higher and the wind is generally calm," Vansant said. "They need to use common sense, too. If the wind is strong, they don't need to burn anything. Just because they have obtained a burn permit does not mean they have to use it. They can get another permit for when the weather is safer for outdoor burning."

John Everitt, the forestry commission's manager for Colbert County, said local residents have done much to help prevent wildfires so far this year. "People realize how dry it is and have held off on their burning."

He said volunteer firefighters have also played a big role in preventing large wildfires by responding to woods and grass fires quickly before they became raging infernos.

Vansant said the drought in the Shoals this summer was more severe than southern Georgia was this spring when a rash of wildfires blackened thousands of acres. "We're very lucky we have not had any of the giant fires like other parts of the country have had this year. The potential was here for that kind of fire, and it looks like the fire danger is going to continue to be high the rest of the year."

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com.