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Show - " f . "! i . I " " H . V-: 1 'I 11 - I ill 11 .J. 1.., . o f - VICKI BURTON, Center, is this year's UBIC Queen. Penny Rawlings, left, is first attendant and Leslie Ann Hanchett is second se-cond attendant. Wef spring brings increase tforesf, range the danger The number of forest and rangeland fires this year has been below normal, but according to interagency fire dispatcher Helen Frazier, the worst is yet to come. Ms. Frazier said the wet spring and cool early summer has produced more fuels for fires than usual. The grass is just now drying to the point where the fire danger becomes more prevalent. Most of the grass is now cured, or is curing rapidly. Curing means that the grass has reached its maximum height and has lost the moisture it retains while in the growing process. It is now ideal for burning. The forest area fire condition is now listed as high and increasing continually con-tinually because of the drying grass. The large amount of high grass is causing problems which would not normally exist. Most of the snow, which lasted longer than usual, is also now gone, except in the very highest areas. Desert fire conditions are very high, according to Ms. Frazier, and also is climbing very rapidly. Warm temperatures and the dry winds now experienced are ideal conditions for fires to get started and run wild. The State of Utah has placed a ban on all fires on state administered lands. No fires are allowed on state land that are not specifically contained contain-ed in fire areas provided by state agencies. agen-cies. This ban will continue until further fur-ther notice. The United States Forest Service has issued no specific restrictions for this year. Miker Bergfeld, recreation forester with the Ashley National Forest, said they are still encouraging people to be very careful and observe all laws concerning fires. No fireworks of any kind are allowed in the National Forest at any time. Bergfeld said people peo-ple should be extremely cautious in disposing cigarette butts and in the use of campfires. Currently the higher mountain elevations are still very green and do not pose the extreme danger that now exists in lower elevations. Bergfeld did say the infestation of the Mountain Pine Beetle poses extra dangers of forest fires, but that danger will become much greater 20 years from now. As trees die from the Mountain Pine Beetle, their needles first turn red and die before they fall off. This is when the trees pose the most fire danger. When the trees are full of the dry red needles the whole tree will burn, which poses far more danger of other trees being ignited. Once ther needles have fallen off, the danger of the tree burning burn-ing is reduced. In order to do what they can, the Forest Service plans to accelerate timber harvest. This will remove the dead trees and keep them from falling. When all of the trees fall, the fire hazard will become extreme, with all the fuel laying on the ground. Clearing Clear-ing areas that can be harvested will help, but many areas, such as sidehills that cannot be harvested will pose the greatest danger. This will probably not happen for another 20 years. The forest service allowed private firewood gathering near two campgrounds cam-pgrounds near Flaming Gorge Reservoir Reser-voir over the past couple of weeks. Bergfeld said this was done for two purposes. First, it removes the Mountain Moun-tain Pine Beetle infested trees from the area, and keep the other trees from becoming infested. Second, it removes the trees, plus the increased danger of fire, from areas where people gather on a regular basis. Bergfeld said there has not been anything proposed to do about the beetle bee-tle infested trees on a major scale, although there have been talks toward that end. People are encouraged to be especially conscious of fire danger because of the extenuating circumstances. cir-cumstances. No open fires are allowed allow-ed on state property. Fires in other areas should be totally contained, with an area cleared around the fire to keep sparks from igniting near fuels. People are encouraged not to smoke in the forest or ranee areas. Cigarettes should be extinquished in automobile ashtrays, not thrown out of car windows. Fireworks of any kind are strictly prohibited. Officials will be issuing citations for any violations of the laws. Anyone spotting a fire is encouraged encourag-ed to call the interagency'fire dispatcher dispat-cher at 7R9-7021. Please be prepared to locate the fire and give as much information infor-mation as you are able. |
