| OCR Text |
Show CASTLE VALLEY TIMES .. BLAZING Castle Valley,Utah . Volume 2, Number 8 - August 15,1993; Be Wary withopen Flames ‘ \\w/ 4‘.- Fire Department Speaking of trucks, you are quic\kly spread.fact, In according to a Notes familiar with the low speed capability of our little red fire truck, especially Last month we talked about what we needed to do to control a brush or grass fire. A quick look around our valley reveals acre after acre of dry, delivery of two military pick-up trucks rated at a 1-1/2 ton load capacity. The highly flammable material, and houses uphill. On the 9th of August we took pump and tank now mounted on the red truck will be transferred to one of the newer units, giving us a true “quick recent Atlantic Monthly article, it is probably the most common plant in the Intermountain West, now dominating over 100 million acres ofsagebrush grasslands. This annual appears to be quickly evolving, and is now being built in it. If we get a fire started on one of our hot, dry, windy days, the potential for a major disaster exists, response unit.” Our thanks go to the State Forest and lands Department for found not only in sagebrush grasslands as before, but in hot, dry salt deserts as well as at altitudes as high as 7,000 feet with the ponderosa pines. Botanists and involving far more than the property on which the fire begins. The best way to avoid fire damage obtaining these vehicles from Federal Surplus and giving them to us. —Floyd L. Stoughton, environmentalists are worried and at a loss as to how to deal with it. The fast spreading weed has become a threat to CV Fire Chief the western landscape, some experts considering it to be the most devastating ecological problem in the west. is to avoid having a “controlled burn” get out of control. We wrote about how clearing an area around your house and having a charged garden hose ready would help keep fire away from your structures. It is logical to assume that exactly the same steps will help keep a fire in a barbecue pit or outdoor fireplace from escaping into the surrounding hazardous areas. The building code contains information on what is required to construct outdoor bunting facilities such as barbecues and fireplaces. Wherever possible, use an expanded metal screen to contain sparks and firebrands within any container you may be using. The most hazardous materials are those which are so light that rising heat currents can lift flaming particles and drop them some distance away. These would include newsprint and tumbleweeds. If you feel you must burn paper, do it in a container with a screen on top. If you have a lot of tumbleweeds to burn, wet down the surrounding area and let a member of the fire department know about your plans. We will either be near one of our trucks or actually come to your place with a truck to stand by while you burn. Failure to observe safe burning practices, or to extinguish a fire deemed unsafe by a fire department member is a misdemeanor. We will obtain information regarding safe burning practices codified in similar communities and publish those applicable to our situation so that personal opinions don't become the basis for fire code enforcement. Cheatgrass Taking Unfair Advantage I walked upon the land long before Native to Eurasia, cheat was probably imported mixed with other seed (and socks). Farmers called it “cheat” grass because it cheated them it was ours. I had made my way up of their crops. Spreading with cattle from the creek along the cliffside and and feed, by the 19305 it blanketed most of the West. Ranchers welcomed then dropped down and crossed over. My dog was with me and I had socks on. Until the prospect of buying it came up, I never again crossed it. The reason being Cheatgrass. It was so entangled in my socks that I threw them out rather than pick out the hundreds of short barbed awns. My dog sat at my feet for an hour as I picked them from her toes and ears and fur. Here at the house we are renting there is plenty of Cheatgrass, but it tends to lie low, on the periphery where it is neither noticed nor pulled. When we bought our lot up the road in the spring, the grassy areas were a soft green, a lovely meadow dotted with wildflowers. You could run through and let the grasses flow like water. But now it is late summer, and I am frantically plotting how to destroy them, outwit them, keep their seed from the ground. Bromrtt tectorum. Downy Brome, a.k.a. bronco grass, Mormon oats, six- the weed, as it came up early and grew quickly, providing early pasture for cattle. Thus a devastating cycle began. Cattle released to pasture when the cheat is tender and green inadvertently destroy other plants just beginning to get established, giving the quick and persistent cheat seeds further advantage to spread and conquer. Cheatgrass seeds are dropped all summer, gaining an advantage over other plants that seed later. Not only does the young ' seedling have a longer stretch of moderate temperature in which to grow, but the depth to which it can reach (quickly reaching 3 feet underground!) before winter sets in allows it to continue to grow all winter. Many native grasses will not grow when temperatures fall below 50°, but cheat continues to thrive as low as 37°. When spring arrives its root system is well -\\7// weeks grass, chess, and June grass is a member of the Poaceae or grass family. Though it has a brief history on this continent, having been introduced to the US. in the mid 18003, Cheatgrass .‘ %\\ More on Page 2 |
