WVFD hosts wildfire preparedness meeting

The Wallace Volunteer Fire Department hosted a wildfire preparedness meeting at the American Legion in Wallace on March 23.
The speaker was the Keystone-Lemoyne Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ralph Moul.
Moul has been a member of the Keystone-Leymone fire department for 44 years and chief of that department for 26. He has served with the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office for 33 years, covering 15 counties and 60 fire departments in southwest Nebraska. He retired from his position with the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office in December.
In 2003, Moul helped establish the Fire Management Response Team, which is available to local fire departments when they need extra manpower to manage and fight a wildfire. When called, a member of this team can be on the site of a fire in two hours or less.
Moul spoke to members of eight fire departments from Brady, Curtis, Hayes Center, Hershey, North Platte, Sutherland, Wallace and Wellfleet, as well as landowners.
He talked to the landowners about being prepared for a wildfire before it starts.
The first course of action is long-term preparedness.
Moul emphasized it is important to clean-up property around houses and out buildings so a fire has nowhere to settle in and stay a while. A first step is to make sure there are no trees or shrubs within 100 feet of any building. Those trees 100 feet and beyond should have their limbs trimmed six feet above the ground. Moul told landowners to remove any deleterious undergrowth from the now trimmed trees and remove any downed branches as they occur.
Another course of action, Moul said, is to not pile firewood for fireplaces or fire pits on the deck of the house or next to the house.
Do not store wood fence posts next to any out buildings or near any fuel storage, Moul added.
Moul encouraged landowners to mow their property. Keeping the grass on the farmstead short means less fuel for the fire.
Storing hay bales 200 feet from buildings is also a good long-term plan, according to Moul.
Cleaning rain gutters was another suggestion, which includes removing all leaves and needle refuse from the gutters not just where the wind blows leaf eddies around buildings. Removing the leaves on a regular basis doesn’t give embers from a wildfire places to land and start buildings on fire.
When not in use, grills and lawn furniture should be stored away from the outside of buildings, Moul added.
During the question and answer time it was brought up that using railroad ties and timbers in landscaping farmsteads can give the fire a place to maintain itself.
Short-term preparedness includes listening to the police and firefighters. When officials say it’s time to get out, it’s time to go, Moul said.
Landowners should close all windows and doors on houses and all out buildings, which prevents wind blown embers from entering the buildings and igniting combustible items.
While leaving, landowners should drive carefully. Drivers should be aware of wind blown smoke that could hinder visibility. Not paying attention can interfere with fire personnel and equipment from getting to the fire, interfere directly with the fire fighting or put people in the path of the fire.
Moul continued his presentation by emphasizing personal safety.
“It’s only grass, trees and brush. It will grow back,” Moul said, adding, fighting the fire is not worth risking a life.
Moul explained the wildfire triangle consists of fuel, weather and topography. Nebraska is loaded with fine fuels. Grassland, timber, brush and wheat, corn and soybean fields will react differently to a fire. The height of the fuel multiplied by four is what the height of the fire will be.
Weather is a major consideration in fighting wildfires. Winds of 10 m.p.h. or more, thunderstorms with lightning and wind shifts, relative humidity of 15% or less, temperatures of 85 degrees or more and a high Haines index, a numerical value that indicates the potential for large wildfires to experience extreme behavior, must all be noted and re-evaluated throughout the duration of the fire.
Topography also plays a role in a wildfire. The steeper the slope the faster a fire moves up the slope. Fire runs up hill. Features in the landscape like chimneys, box canyons, deep canyons, saddles and soft ground can affect how fast and where a wildfire spreads.
Fire equipment can get stuck in soft ground thus removing that particular crew from the firefighting and putting themselves at risk.
Moul explained some of the special terminology firefighters use to keep their bearings at wildfires. The anchor is the base of the fire. From there it is left flank, right flank and head of the fire.
It was emphasized to the firefighters to keep in communication at all times and to fight the fire from where the fire had already passed through, in the black.