Increased Fire Risk During Dry Spring In Maryland: DNR

MARYLAND — With grasses and brush dry and parts of Maryland experiencing a relatively dry spring, state officials are warning residents the risk of wildfires has surged.

Baltimore County Fire Department crews on Tuesday battled an eight-alarm brush fire that started about 3 p.m. in the 5100 block of Deer Park Road at the Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area. Over 200 firefighters from across the region responded, and 29 homes were evacuated, the agency said on Twitter.

About 7 p.m. fire officials said the wildfire was 60 to 70n percent contained.

Each year, the Maryland Forest Service responds to an average of 122 wildfires that burn 1,050 acres of forest, brush, and grasses, according to a news release from the Department of Natural Resources. Wildfires happens most often in the spring and fall when forest fuels are the driest and weather conditions — warm, dry, and windy — are most conducive for the spread of fire.

“It has been abnormally dry,” Chris Robertson, the state fire supervisor with the Maryland DNR, told WTOP.

Robertson said some parts of Maryland are nearly 3 inches below their average rainfall amount for this point in the year.

“We actually had the relative humidity a couple of weeks ago down in the single digits, which is kind of unheard of for here in the East,” Robertson said. “We’re usually pretty moist.”

During spring wildfire season, the leading unintentional cause of wildfires is burning of debris or other outdoor burning, which on a ten-year average accounts for 34 percent of the fires to which the Maryland Forest Service responds.

The DNR said the second-leading cause of wildfires is arson, followed by man-made causes such as heat or sparks from equipment use.

Lightning is the only natural source of fire ignition, and accounts for only 3 percent of fire starts.

The Maryland Forest Service recommends that instead of outdoor debris burning, you compost or mulch yard waste, leaves and brush, and use larger brush or trees for firewood.

Outdoor burning should only be done on low fire danger days. State regulations apply to activities in or within 200 feet of woodland, or activities adjacent to or within an area where flammable materials are located.

Open air burning is only allowed if:

• There is a natural or constructed fire break at least 10 feet wide completely around the material to be burned that is free of flammable materials;
• Adequate personnel and equipment are present to prevent the fire from escaping;
• At least one responsible person remains at the location of the fire until the last spark is out; and
• Burning occurs between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight unless the ground is covered with snow.

More information on open air burning is available on the Department of Natural Resources website.