Damaged trees are “a major thing,” Trevor Raynor, the state Forest Fire Service warden for the Pine Barrens around Helmetta. “I’ve evaluated my tactics for the fire season. I told the guys, we’re going to have to fight fires differently.
“Sandy caused all these snags in trees, I don’t want to send all my guys in,” Raynor said. “(Instead), I might be doing indirect attacks,” such as lighting backfires to control a fire.
Imagine one hiker saying to another on a pre-Sandy day, “Watch that widow-maker above you.” Then, imagine a forest filled with widow-makers, hangers, and snags.
Although hundreds of trees were heavily damaged in Superstorm Sandy, they may already have been damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, that dropped a foot or so of rain, either directly moistening and loosening soil or flooding waterways that moistened and loosened soil and, in turn, made it easier for shallow-rooted trees to topple.
Another complication was trees heavily damaged, and about to fall, through gypsy moth damage – in such places as the woods from Snuffy Hollow to Swing Hill and along Helmetta Boulevard.
Surprisingly, the trees damaged by gypsy moths a few years ago did not fall in Sandy. In hindsight, the spars probably did not have enough mass to catch Sandy’s winds or the snowfall of a week later.by Joseph Sapia
http://wildnewjersey.tv/2013/04/12/the-pine-barrens-around-helmetta-falling-tree-warning.aspx
“Sandy caused all these snags in trees, I don’t want to send all my guys in,” Raynor said. “(Instead), I might be doing indirect attacks,” such as lighting backfires to control a fire.
Imagine one hiker saying to another on a pre-Sandy day, “Watch that widow-maker above you.” Then, imagine a forest filled with widow-makers, hangers, and snags.
Although hundreds of trees were heavily damaged in Superstorm Sandy, they may already have been damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, that dropped a foot or so of rain, either directly moistening and loosening soil or flooding waterways that moistened and loosened soil and, in turn, made it easier for shallow-rooted trees to topple.
Another complication was trees heavily damaged, and about to fall, through gypsy moth damage – in such places as the woods from Snuffy Hollow to Swing Hill and along Helmetta Boulevard.
Surprisingly, the trees damaged by gypsy moths a few years ago did not fall in Sandy. In hindsight, the spars probably did not have enough mass to catch Sandy’s winds or the snowfall of a week later.by Joseph Sapia
http://wildnewjersey.tv/2013/04/12/the-pine-barrens-around-helmetta-falling-tree-warning.aspx
