Much to the chagrin of the many
rural residents who read this newspaper, the Department of Environmental
Conservation’s annual ban on the open burning of brush is in effect and will
remain so until May 14.
In the early spring of every year
the state does not allow the burning of limbs, sticks and tree mass in towns
where such activities are otherwise allowed the rest of the year (that would be
communities with populations under 20,000). Over that two month period, the DEC
still allows small cooking fires and campfires that are less than 3 feet in
height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter.
This law is a necessary tool to
prevent wildfires, as the grasses, leaves, and weeds of the springtime are perfect
fuels for fires that can and do advance from their intended purpose. While the
ground may seem saturated from snow melt and spring rains, the same can’t be
said for the plants – they just spent a winter in suspended animation or death
and they don’t have any water in them. Those dry plants will ignite from a
nearby flame or windblown ashes. The ban’s end date coincides with the greening
of that local plant life.
The law, which went into effect in
2009 and has cut back on wildfires by 36%, continues to be a sore subject for quite
a few local property owners. Brush burning had always been a rite of spring, as
homeowners with spacious country lots and woodlot managers found themselves
cleaning up and disposing of the remnants of winter storms.
Despite the DEC’s reasonable
expectations and the very real threat of a $500 fine (for the first offense)
and larger ones and even jail time for repeat offenses, rural landowners
continue to burn during the ban. They certainly can’t cite ignorance to the
law, as each year there is an incredible amount of press that the ban receives
in local broadcast and print news. What they can cite is their own indifference
to it; I guarantee the common sentiment is, “It’s my property. I can do what I
want.”
Local property owners continued to
take that cavalier approach in recent years. The perfect example is 2015. Many
of them probably assumed that the brutal winter of 2014-2015 was so cold and
snowy that the ground was soaked from the thaw and therefore fires wouldn’t
happen. But they did…and often. During 2015’s prohibition period (which was
made a week longer because of the dry May weather) the Niagara County Sheriff’s
office dispatched 58 fire calls across Niagara County for brush and grass fires
that went out of control.
Think about the scale of that – 58
times over a two-month period, wildfires threatened and destroyed property, be
it land, woods or structures. Not only were the properties of the burners
affected, but so were their neighbor’s lands and buildings.
Fortunately, no human life was taken
and no houses were lost in those five dozen crises, and that’s a testament to
our local volunteer firefighters. They abused themselves and their equipment
(it’s never good to drive fire trucks across a beat up field or into a forest)
to keep these out-of-control fires at bay.
So, while some guys will throw
around the property rights argument, they need to understand that their
neighbors have a right to safely enjoy their property and the firemen have a
right to enjoy their weekends and evenings with their families (when most of
these wildfires occur). We’re already in the midst of a significant volunteer
firefighter crisis – there aren’t enough of them – so let’s not overwork those rare
few who are giving their time to our community.
I ask that my fellow countryfolk use
some common sense this spring and respect the law, the environment and your
fellow man. Hold off on your brush fires and bonfires until June. A simple fire
can quickly become a major situation this time of year. As Smokey Bear says,
“only you can prevent wildfires.”
From the 02 April 2018
Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News
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