Brush fires on the rise
Authorities: Avoid burning
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Blair County firefighters were busy Monday attesting to the heightened seasonal risk of brush and wildfires.
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources categorizing Blair and all surrounding counties as having high observed fire danger due to dry, hot weather.
The growing season has yet to really kick off meaning there is a lot of flammable material to spread fires.
"Even though things have greened up, it's still very dry," Blair County Director of Emergency Services Mark Taylor said. "Everyone should refrain from outdoor burning."
Numerous calls for brush fires came over the police scanner throughout the day Monday, including one near Garfield Park and one with the Excelsior Volunteer Fire Department out of Bellwood spending about 3.5 hours fighting a 3-acre fire.
Excelsior Fire Chief Dave McCloskey said that while the department hadn't responded to very many brush fires so far this year, he thinks that might change with the weather forecasted for the rest of the week.
"Just don't burn during this next two weeks," McCloskey said.
The dry weather is expected to stay throughout the week with the earliest Blair County can expect to see some precipitation is Friday night or Saturday, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Dombek. However, the amount of rain may be insignificant, measuring at about one- or two-tenths of an inch.
"The second opportunity for showers or thunderstorms and more significant wet weather is Sunday," Dombek said.
Until then, warm temperatures will accompany the dryness, Dombek said, as "temps will be way warmer than they should be for the second week of April."
The high temperature peak will most likely be either Thursday or Friday, with temperatures getting into the 80s, he said.
"In addition to no rain and the dry heat, the amount of water you're able to evaporate will be very high," Dombek said. "The topsoil is going to be dried out."
One of the drawbacks of this is the potential for brush and wildfires, he said.
Fighting brush fires can be especially challenging because of the terrain, McClosky said, as many areas are in "hilly territory" and firefighters have to drag rakes and carry water tanks on their backs.
"There's no super highways where those are at," McClosky said.
The warm weather won't last, with "quite a bit chillier" weather expected next week as temperatures struggle to get above 50 degrees, according to Dombek.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.