Thursday, March 12, 2009

Burn Day



Fire at Gator Pond

Today was a special day here at Gator Pond. Keith Tassin, Brian Martin, and five top-notch seasonal TNC burn crew members were here to conduct a prescribed burn. Smoke was in the air a little after 10:00 AM while a north wind pushed smoke well away from the adjacent Conecuh National Forest Open Pond Campground, as prescribed in the burn plan. By 11:30 the wind unexpectedly switched and was coming out of the south, meaning we were starting to "smoke 'em out," so the burn was stopped early. Rules are rules, and we got about halfway done. But there's a good firebreak in place and I think with some help from a few local friends (you guys know who you are) we should still be able to get the rest burned this year. Huge thanks to Keith, Brian, and crew for the great work, and to Randy Roach (USFWS retired) and Traci George (ADCNR) for helping arrange this through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, through which we both participate and benefit. Below are some more pics.

"Your safe place is in the pond." Yes, I heard Keith say it.


Maidencane on fire, with Gator Pond seven feet lower than normal. Click for detail.

Five of the crew holding the line. Karan said they looked like Ghostbusters.


Wind shift! Tassin & crew were glad we had an interior road for a back-up firebreak

Where did all this longleaf come from? Hope it's OK!


Smoky sunset. Click for more detail.

Maggie the Fire Dog

2 comments:

Mark in LA said...

It looks like your burning crew did a fine job. I think your young longleaf will turn out just fine, and I'll be glad to assist with burning the other parcels.

Eric Soehren said...

Looks like it was a good fire. Hope you can get the rest of it burned soon...give me a heads up and maybe I can come join you to assist.