The New Jersey Fire Service has spent the past three days lighting up underbrush in the wildlife management area in order to eliminate hazards like leaves and fallen trees that can create more serious fires in the future.
According to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Forest Fire Service burns over 10,000 acres of forest and grasslands per year.
Similar work occurred in Monroe Township’s Winslow Wildlife Management Area on Tuesday, with a projected 100 acres of grass and 20 acres of forest burned.
“It’s all positive work that has to be done now while it’s cool out and the conditions are right,” said Paul Shropshiro, district warden for the fire service.
Shropshiro sits in the back of a red truck, pushing branches out of his face while the driver barrels over an uneven dirt road in the middle of Peaslee park.
The firefighters use a mixture of gasoline and kerosene to torch the ground, which burns the lattice of dead leaves on the ground and facilities better growth in the spring.
“We burn it slow, not to take out any trees here, but we do want to take out the underbrush,” said Ron Ruggeri, Section Four Fire Warden.
Ruggeri and his team organize the slow burn by sectioning off the forest into designated blocks.(Don E Woods)
http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2013/03/control_burns_fighting_fire_wi.html
According to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Forest Fire Service burns over 10,000 acres of forest and grasslands per year.
Similar work occurred in Monroe Township’s Winslow Wildlife Management Area on Tuesday, with a projected 100 acres of grass and 20 acres of forest burned.
“It’s all positive work that has to be done now while it’s cool out and the conditions are right,” said Paul Shropshiro, district warden for the fire service.
Shropshiro sits in the back of a red truck, pushing branches out of his face while the driver barrels over an uneven dirt road in the middle of Peaslee park.
The firefighters use a mixture of gasoline and kerosene to torch the ground, which burns the lattice of dead leaves on the ground and facilities better growth in the spring.
“We burn it slow, not to take out any trees here, but we do want to take out the underbrush,” said Ron Ruggeri, Section Four Fire Warden.
Ruggeri and his team organize the slow burn by sectioning off the forest into designated blocks.(Don E Woods)
http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2013/03/control_burns_fighting_fire_wi.html