With leaves falling and many Northwest Georgia residents cleaning up their yards, some may use controlled burns.
And while there are currently no burn bans in effect for Dalton, Whitfield County or Murray County, residents should take precautions before starting any fires, said Mark Wiles, a wildfire prevention and education team leader with the U.S. Forest Service.
“At this time, we are experiencing drought conditions in Northwest Georgia, and really all across Northern Georgia,” Wiles said. “Probably more so than any other area in the state, we have the mountain region and huge amounts of fuel out there, which includes leaves, limbs and debris that come off the trees.”
Because of some recent rainfall in the area, Wiles said many people may feel “comfortable” burning leaves.
“But with the current drought conditions that we’ve had, the amount of rainfall that we’ve received is only good for about three days, and then we’ll be right back where we were in terms of drought,” he said. “So, the message here is it’s still legal to burn, but if you burn, you need to be cautious and do what is required by the state of Georgia.”
Wiles said residents should implement proper pre-planning procedures by adhering to the Georgia Forestry Commission’s “Take 5” steps for complying with the state’s outdoor burning laws when burning hand-piled leaves, sticks or yard debris (leaves and limbs only).
“For burning small hand piles, you don’t have to call to get a permit anymore, but there are five things to remember,” he said. “First, (each burn) has to be at least 25 feet from a wooded area and at least 50 feet from any structure. You also have to have tools on hand, like a hose, rake or shovel, to control it if it were to get out of control.”
Weather conditions such as wind and humidity need to be monitored to “make sure that the winds aren’t going to get up and the humidity is not going to drop really low,” with burns allowed to only take place between sunrise and sunset, Wiles said.
“You can’t burn at night, simply because of the smoke,” he said. “It gets on the highways, drifts into communities and it can cause a real problem there.”
Wiles said those five steps apply only to hand-piled natural vegetation/yard debris.
“Anything larger than that, if you’ve piled it up with a dozer or any sort of mechanized equipment, it’s required that you get a permit from the local Georgia Forestry Commission.”
To apply for a burn permit for larger burns from the commission or to learn more about safe burning practices, visit www.gatrees.org/burn-permits-and-notifications or call 800-428-7337.
Wiles, who has been participating in a combined campaign between the U.S. Forest Service and the Georgia Forestry Commission to educate people around the country on wildfire safety and prevention, recently set up booths at Bass Pro Shops in East Ridge, Tennessee, and Dalton State College.
“These specialized education teams as part of this campaign come together and get the word out to the public while letting them know about the number one cause of wildfires,” he said. “And across the nation, our number one wildfire cause is people. Here in Georgia particularly, it’s people burning leaves, limbs and that sort of thing.”
In Georgia, Wiles said fire season typically begins in the fall and lasts through winter.
“As the leaves come down, that’s an additional fuel layer,” he said. “There’s more people in the woods because they’re hunting, and there’s more people at home raking and burning leaves. We just want people to be cautious, so waiting on a good, soaking rain before you do any burning is recommended.”
Wiles said many people might not realize the severity of starting a burn that spirals out of control.
“Most people don’t realize they’re liable for their fire,” he said. “If your fire gets out of control and you’re not following the five steps that you need to follow for hand-pile vegetation, as that fire leaves your property and goes on to somebody else’s, you’re liable to have it put out. And you’re liable for any damage that fire may cause to a neighbor’s property or, heaven forbid, if somebody gets hurt.”
He said it’s also important for hunters and campers to become educated on the dangers of building campfires.
“If you build a campfire, you need to properly extinguish that fire,” Wiles said. “Campfires have become an issue, so we have to track those down and make sure they’re properly extinguished. That means going and making sure that it’s properly extinguished by pouring water on it, stirring the ashes with a shovel and then continually pouring more water. You should be able to run your hands through the ash and not get burned. It should be completely cool to the touch.”
Wiles said North Georgia could be susceptible to another large, catastrophic fire like those in late 2016, which included Rocky Face Ridge. The largest of those fires, the Rough Ridge fire, burned about 28,000 acres in the Cohutta Wilderness before firefighters got it under control.
“I do a lot of work out west where fire is a lot more critical in most cases because it’s dry, it’s windy and the humidity’s low,” Wiles said. “But here, it got really dry this summer and we’ve had fires like those in 2016. So, is it possible? Absolutely. I think some people still believe it could never happen here, but it can.”
Wiles said the “unique thing” about Northwest Georgia is the rainfall and large vegetative growth.
“We have a lot of beautiful forests, and the leaves on those trees and all of that vegetation underneath, it accumulates year after year,” he said. “So, we have a huge fuel load, and when it dries out, we start having super intense fires. Again, we just want people to be cautious and know the steps to take to help prevent something like this from happening.”