The conditions that contributed to the fire on Deer Leap in Mendon have helped the state’s trail system in other ways, a representative of the Green Mountain Club said Thursday.
U.S. Forest Service officials cited the dry conditions as part of what led to a forest fire that scorched an area just off the trail at the popular hiking spot over the weekend, and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation issued a warning Thursday about the conditions.
“The North American Drought Monitor, a cooperative effort between drought experts to monitor conditions across the continent, classified 51% of Vermont as experiencing moderate drought conditions and the remainder of the state as abnormally dry,” the news release stated. “The weather forecast over the next few weeks does not indicate any signs of relief, with little to no precipitation forecasted.”
The state said the dry conditions meant a need for extra attention to open burns in general and campfires in particular.
“Under normal conditions, organic matter in and above the soil, leaves and branches that fall to the ground and decay helps to maintain soil moisture. However, the recent abnormally dry weather has resulted in low soil moisture in many areas of the state, increasing the risk of ground fires,” according to the news release. “Ground fires are wildfires that occur in the subsurface and consume buried vegetation. This type of fire can be difficult and costly to extinguish and is often started by open burning such as burn piles, bonfires and campfires.”
The fire at Deer Leap was attributed to an unextinguished campfire and was not completely out and still being monitored at the start of the week. Information was not readily available from the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday and representatives of the Green Mountain Club, which maintains the trail system, said they were telling their crews to stay out of the way until the Forest Service gave them the all-clear.
“What I know is they’ve been up there checking for hotspots,” said Keegan Tierney, director of field programs for the Green Mountain Club. “When they’re done, they’re going to give us a report on what the damages are.”
With larger-than-normal numbers of people hiking Vermont’s trails, Tierney said that the dry weather is likely having an overall positive effect because wet summers tend to have a larger impact on the trails.
“Wear and tear on the trail system is really weather-dependent,” he said. “Because the summer’s been so dry, we’ve been having a good summer in terms of trail maintenance. Generally, most of the impacts on the trail come from people walking about wet spots and widening the trail. In a dry season, people tend to stay on the treadway.”
Keegan said they have seen impact at overnight sites because campers are bringing their own tents instead of sharing shelters because of the pandemic.
“If everything goes back to normal in a couple years, that shouldn’t be a long-term impact for us,” he said.
Dry conditions are raising concerns away from the woods, as well.
“We haven’t had any requests for a bonfire but, honestly, with the way it’s been dry, there’s not chance anyone would get one right now,” said acting Rutland City Fire Chief William Lovett.
Earlier in the year, city officials brought up the dry conditions as a concern in the discussion about the popularity of outdoor fire pits and the sudden proliferation of fireworks, but Lovett said those have been less of a concern in recent weeks.
“Since the kids have gone back to school, everything has been kind of quiet,” he said.
Elsewhere in the state, there have been many reports of wells and irrigation ponds going dry, affecting households and farms needing to irrigate or water livestock.
Warm, sunny weather is in the forecast, but so is some badly needed rain later next week.
gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com
September 25, 2020 at 04:43AM
https://www.timesargus.com/news/covid19/dry-weather-brings-mixed-blessings/article_ac655698-fe19-5ca3-8191-491b55e54ed4.html
Dry weather brings mixed blessings | Pandemic 2020 | timesargus.com - Barre Montpelier Times Argus
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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