Forest fire in Barnegat

[rjb]

Anyone have any first hand information about this fire. They seem to be having difficulty containing it because of swamp land causing problems for bulldozers.

http://www.app.com/article/20100626...-fire-in-Barnegat-could-spread-to-1-000-acres

 

[PancoastDrifter]

I don't know the status now but choppers are still buzzing around.

Pics and video on my flickr page...

 

[bobpbx]

I have a cure for 5 bulldozers getting stuck in the swamp:

STAY THE HELL OUT OF THE SWAMP!

 

[manumuskin]

saw in the paper yesterday where a family who has lived in warren grove for twelve years was complaining that this is the fifth fire they've had since they've been there.Again another family who wants to live in the woods but has no clue as to what those woods are all about.BUY FIRE INSURANCE! I love the way people move into the woods,cut down all the native trees and shribs in the yard and plant grass and a bunch of non native flowers you would find at a botanical garden.Heck why didn't you just stay in the burbs?Nothin purtier then a yard of open pitch pine with the heath layer culled down to where you can walk through the yard without briar britches.keep the shrubbery down and a few guineas and this will keep the ticks and chiggers down.I have nothing against flower gardens and grass but if you don't like all those gnarly old pines and wire grass why live in the pines?
Al

 

[dragoncjo]

Makes you wonder why they moved there in the first place. I hear what you saying Al it drives me crazy.

 

[Boyd]

Me too. I have been busting my b@lls over the past 4 years since moving out to the woods, gradually tearing apart all of the landscaping the previous owner did. They had a vision of an English country garden (or something) evidently. One by one I have ripped apart beds that were edged with stone, railroad ties and concrete blocks. I now have a pile of concrete blocks big enough to build a shed. Man, those things are heavy! I cut up a pile of kindling that lasted more than a year after tearing down the white picket fences and trellis.

Just now starting to get it natural looking, like a little house in the pines. I am a bit torn as to whether to cut down the blue spruces of various sizes in the yard. They are nice trees, but they just look wrong to me. I'm sure the previous owner would be horrified to see what I've done... and I'm probably hurting the resale value, since, as you say, most people just want to bring the suburbs to the woods. Oh well, guess I'll just have to stay here forever.

 

[PancoastDrifter]

I am not complaining. The fire crews did another awesome job. They are still on scene right now as a precaution. Warren Grove is the anvil of the sun today!

BUT, all these fires this year have been on Saturdays... makes me wonder.

 

[GermanG]

In regards to landscaping, I guess it goes back to the old saying “there’s no accounting for taste”. It is not limited to the Pine Barrens. No matter where you are in the state or country, most people landscape their yards in a manner disharmonious with the original native environment. I’m half Italian, and I cringe when I see how some of my full-blood relatives landscape their yards. Besides the prerequisite Mary on a halfshell, there is enough non-native stone spread around to entomb a pharaoh, and trees or shrubs either pruned into unnatural geometric shapes or else wrapped for the winter like a frozen London broil. One person's ugly is another's beauty. I'm sure the retired person I bought my house from would cringe if he saw what I did to the turf farm he was growing, replacing areas of grass with laurel, oak and pine.

As far as fire risk, I blame the local officials who oversee the zoning and development more than I do the new residents. Few of the new residents have any idea what kind of environment they are walking into. They didn’t decide to locate the housing development in the traditional path of forest fires. They just answered a for sale ad. More blame should be placed on the people who are in the never-ending search for tax ratables.

 

[46er]

I have nothing against flower gardens and grass but if you don't like all those gnarly old pines and wire grass why live in the pines?
Al

There is a very simple answer to that question; the cost of the homes. That's the primary reason folks keep going further and further away from citified areas, and why developers keep putting houses up. Unless of course they enjoy 2 hour rides to their workplaces in the cities.

 

[Boyd]

I don't quite agree with that, although I'm sure it's one factor. But I suspect it's more a remnant of the "pioneer spirit"; a desire to tame the wilderness and expand man's reach. Nature is something to be "conquered". People think it will be cleaner and their kids will be safer.

 

[Kevinhooa]

Man, this thread is making me laugh. I hear you with some people going overboard, and it does look odd when people move out to the pines and do that. I would love to live in the pines. I grew up in Mullica Twp. on a plot with 20 acres, and I live in a condo now in a busy community. I just don't fit here. I'm sure a big reason people move there is price, and the added bonus of usually living a nice distance from crazy neighbors. My crazy neighbors are a mere 10 feet away from me now, but I would love to put up a 100ft wide wall of pine trees to keep them away. As for developments, some are just trouble. Everything is particle board, with shoddy construction, and getting someone to fix something can be a nightmare. That's not worth the price to me, and I'm going to try and stay away from that when it's time to buy a home. As for the fires, it just sucks it's some kind of crappy trend for kids, adults, whoever, who have no idea how fast these bon fires can get out of control, to constantly light them in the woods for parties, and whatever else. Almost like "not their neighborhood, not their problem." Can you hire someone to control burn yards so there is no fuel if a fire rolls through? I've never heard of that, but it seems like that would really help if someone had a sizeable yard.

 

[Teegate]

Can you hire someone to control burn yards so there is no fuel if a fire rolls through? I've never heard of that, but it seems like that would really help if someone had a sizeable yard.

Yes you can. I know of one cranberry farmer who told me he was hiring someone to burn his property, so I would assume the average homeowner could hire him also. I would guess they would have to work hand and hand with the Forest Fire Service to do that.


Guy


Guy