|
|
Posted by Paul Cook in Kempner, Texas [184.7.53.157] on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 15:03:33 :
The Texas Forest Service is the authority for fire prevention in rural areas state wide and sets the standards for implementing burn bans. They pass their "recommendations" to each county's commissioners court who actually impose those restrictions.
I just spent the weekend with Pat and Wanda who host the Tailgate Party every September in Brownwood. They are well known in the area, as is the Tailgate Party. Right now, they have been advised by their friends who are connected to county government that fire prevention measures that go way beyond banning outdoor burning are "recommended" because of the extreme drought conditions the state is experiencing. Basically, "any activity that can produce a spark" should be avoided.
There were wild fires in many parts of Texas and the whole country during the early part of this drought. Actually, these are a normal occurrence in nature, except they usually take place in a smaller scale. It is not unusual to have these fires started by lightning, but there is associated rain that helps to control those fires. There is an ongoing debate among conservationists. Many feel that we do too much to prevent these natural fires with the result that there is a great excess of dead grass and other natural fuel when the fires do take place. The earlier fires this summer may fit this model since they may have consumed much of that excess fuel. Now the fires around here are in areas that had been protected early on, but finally succumbed to the lengthy drought. This even has involved the fairways of a golf course or two. Interestingly, a typical fire now is the result of a rancher mowing a hay crop to salvage as much as he can, but the moving machinery makes a spark and the hay field is lost.
Because of the current conditions and future weather forecasts that predict continuing dry weather, Pat has reluctantly postponed the Tailgate Party until there has been enough rain to remedy the situation.
Driving our Power Wagons on trails that they were designed to conquer is one of the great things of our hobby. Interestingly, there are many places in the USA where muddy trails can provide this challenge. I hope our Power Wagon friends who are not experiencing drought conditions will put together some local events and put out the word. I have been to many Power Wagon events across the USA and I have seen some wonderful places and met some great people.
Above all else, the greatest thing about Power Wagons is their people. I hope everyone will stay in touch or make a new contact.
The weather this year has been both extreme and contrary to what is normal. I wonder how many Power Wagons have been lost to fires, floods, and - as of yesterday - earth quakes.
Follow Ups: