As of this writing, there is speculation that the frightening Ragged Mountain brush fire was started by someone burning debris outdoors.
We wouldn’t be surprised.
Even with wildfires raging all across Virginia on Saturday and Sunday — and our Piedmont and Shenandoah Valley hit hard — people still were engaging in dangerous behavior.
In Albemarle on Sunday afternoon, with county wildfires barely contained, people were observed burning debris outdoors. The burning was contained to a barrel — but a gust of wind could easily lift a spark and carry it to dry grass or timber.
Even that’s not nearly as shocking as what witnesses saw at a Harrisonburg-area gas station. There a man pulled in for a fill-up — and was seen placing a bucket under the tank to catch gasoline flowing from one of two leaks. Gas from the second leak just pooled on the pavement.
A non-native speaker, he reportedly was unable to understand that what he was doing was wrong — or that gasoline that would leak from his tank wherever he went could fuel a wildfire. A burning cigarette flicked from a passing car at the wrong moment, and …
In any case, with conditions as they were over the weekend, a burning cigarette flicked from a car could easily cause a conflagration with or without gasoline fuel. From small embers large fires grow.
In fact … did grow. The weekend fires were both numerous and aggressive.
“It was like being in hell,” said Kelly Mumma, whose home in Ivy was threatened. “I just started crying ...”
“The county has been on fire the whole day,” said a Facebooker from the Rockingham area.
Cool, moist weather has dampened the danger — but not ended it. At least one brush fire was reported even as clouds gathered on Monday.
Fire hazards will not be eliminated so easily; you can bet on it.
Just look at the “Almanac” figures on the following page. Our area is significantly lacking in precipitation again this year. Where normally we would have received more than 6 inches of rain and snow, we have received only 1.7 inches — less than a third of the normal amount.
Unless we soon get an unusual amount of rain, dry conditions will continue, possibly even worsen. Wildfire conditions likely will return.
So this is a plea not to relax vigilance — or to begin safe habits, if you have been one of the careless ones. Outdoor burning, cigarettes tossed from cars, coals from the grill improperly disposed of — these are among the most common origins of accidental human-caused wildfires.
This is also a thank you to the many firefighters who responded to the emergency. Thanks to them, there was no loss of life and minimal loss of property.
Let’s all do our part to make sure they don’t have to answer many more such calls this year.
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