By By Paul Stone
Southwest Louisiana Forestry Association President

As the 2010-2011 winter progresses there are still some very important considerations for landowners to be aware of.

Despite some timely rains that have helped to reduce the number of high fire danger days, precipitation is still well below average. Overall 2010 was the fifth driest year on record in Louisiana, and the below-average precipitation pattern is predicted to continue at least through the spring, thanks to the la Niña pattern in the Southern Pacific that has such an influence on our weather.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) still lists our region as being in a severe drought, and the Keetch-Byram Drought Index still indicates that it would take five inches or more of slow, steady precipitation to bring our soil moisture back into a more normal condition.

With that in mind we should be reviewing our individual situations and plans regarding the possibility of wildfires starting on our properties, or reaching our lands. There are some important questions to ask ourselves at this time:
Do we have a space around our homes, farms and other buildings and equipment that is defensible from fire?
Do we have unnecessary fuels in the vicinity of our homes, such as overgrown shrubs, dead trees or leaves and grass that could ignite easily or cause significant problems in case of a fire? Is there firewood or lumber stacked too close to our home?

The http://www.firewise.org / website has additional ideas about protecting our homes and properties, and has some virtual tours of methods of fire protection that are helpful in almost any circumstance.

Beyond our homes, our family farms, recreation lands and tree farms must also be considered. In this difficult time of State budget cutbacks and staffing reductions, we have to do all that we can to prepare to deal with longer response times from Office of Forestry fire crews.

Do we have adequate firelines around upland stands and/or firebreaks within our properties to stop or knock wildfires back down from a crown fire to a ground fire? Do our neighbors have firelines or some way to interrupt a fire's path? Do we have high fuel loadings in our forest stands which could be reduced through prescribed burning or by mechanical means if necessary? Thinning of overstocked stands can greatly reduce the impacts of wildfires and reduce overall losses. Do we have any equipment that we would want to use in case of a fire, what condition is it in, and is it where it can be accessed quickly?

Now that the holidays and deer season are over, it is an excellent time to step back and review our situations and plans. Give your forestry consultant or any other available forestry resource a call to help you in that process, and make sure that we are all as prepared as we can be in case our lands are hit by the unexpected this fire season.

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