Ice Storm Debris May Cause Fire Concern This Year

December’s ice storm damage is still visible along roadsides and fields in several southern parts of the state.
Trees lean sideways, with branches dangling precariously.
And thousands of broken limbs still lie on the ground.
Peterborough Fire Chief Joe Lenox says the Monadnock region was particularly hard hit.
Lenox1 :20 “We had one of the largest losses in the state of NH and in the Monadnock region we had about a 200-thousand dollar loss in debris management.” 11
Lenox says residents are aggressively cleaning up the debris in their yards.
They’ve taken almost 400 tons of wood chips to the recycling center.
But a lot remains on the ground and especially in remote areas, and that concerns State Fire Marshall Bill Degnan.
Bill1 :27 when you look at the amount of debris on the forest floor, that increases the fire loading, so that means when you do have a fire occur it can be more intense because it has more to burn. 12
Forest Ranger Doug Minor with New Hampshire’s Division of Forest and Lands says by mid-summer or more likely this fall, the downed trees may be ripe for fires.
Doug1 :16 At this point it’s going to take a little more time for that material to actually cure and add to the fuel load out there, obviously when the wood or branches are green then they’re not going to be as likely to combust as dry fuels are.:16
Minor says he’s most concerned about debris in areas where homes are tucked into the woods.
Doug2 “Leaving that material on the ground to cure and actually become available fuel is more of a concern in that setting because the wildland fire can actually communicate the fire from the forest to the structure and that makes it a more critical situation.”
Fire officials say it’s safer to clear out debris or at least keep it 75 to 100 feet away from any structure.
That will also give firefighters better access to fight fires.
Wildfires love low humidity and high winds…which is why they happen more often out west.
Those conditions are more likely to occur in New Hampshire in the fall or spring, when there’s a lack of leaves on the trees to hold moisture.
But Minor says costs to suppress a fire can be just as expensive here.
He says it’s cheaper and easier to take steps to prevent fires and warns everyone this year to be especially cautious.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.