Fire Watch

With the change of the season comes a change of our weather patterns.  As the Northern Hemisphere distances itself from the sun, the change in light and temperatures help "re-mold" our weather patterns.  With the long warm days of summer almost out of sight the probability for showers, more specifically, pop up showers diminish.  Thus leaving us with a dry and nearly arid environment.  This plus an ignition source can lead to the most serious threat from now until spring... Wildfires.

As the season progresses you will hear more of the term "Red Flag Warning".  A Red Flag Warning, broken down, means conditions are at its best for wild fires.  An area already in a drought, that is facing relatively low humidity and gusty winds, are the specific locations where Red Flags are posted.  Avoiding the dangers of fires are as easy as making conscious efforts to avoid wandering ignition sources.  A carelessly thrown cigarette butt hitting a patch of dry grass can, in seconds, turn into an uncontrollable fire.  Another frequent source of ignition this time of year come from campfires.  There are two common sources with a campfire, the first being embers from wood, leaves, and brush that are burned as fuel.  As a fire naturally pops or is poked to allow more to burn, it releases embers.  If the fire is not placed in a large enough clearing or too close to brush, the wandering embers, which burn up to almost 900 degrees can easily set fire to its surroundings.  The second common ignition source is from the spent fire. People believe without flames there is no chance of fire; this is not true.  A fire can ignite as long as it has heat, fuel(wood/coals), and oxygen.  Flare up are common and can cause wildfires if not taken car of immediately.  To combat this, make sure to always douse your campfires with water to make certain there is no chance for a flare up.

With the fall season upon us there are plenty of opportunities for fun and relaxation but remember the good ole' words from Smokey the Bear, "Only you can prevent forest fires."  Any further questions can be sent to my inbox, weather.mike39@gmail.com.

Tomorrow

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Weather Mike