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No rain means brush fires in Boston

Firefighters fight brush fire in Stony Brook Reservation

Firefighters fight brush fire in Stony Brook Reservation. Photo by BFD.

Boston firefighters have been busy battling brush fires this weekend, first in Stony Brook Reservation yesterday and then in Franklin Park today - after more than three weeks without any rain.

Firefighters responded to Stony Brook Reservation between Washington Street and Turtle Pond, off Enneking Parkway, yesterday morning for what the Boston Fire Department described as "a large brush fire." The department stores a truck designed for fighting brush fires at a station nearby on Washington Street in West Roxbury.

Today, around 1 p.m., firefighters responded to two separate fires in the Wilderness area of Franklin Park, off Forest Hills Street and Williams Street.

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Comments

Park Rangers in horseback needed now more than ever. Stupid humans being stupid wherever there is a last piece of natural land and vegetation left.

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How do horses fit in this picture?

More rangers on patrol would help, but why add the cost of horses on top of that when there are other ways to get around in the woods that don't involve live animals and their care? Nostalgia?

And while most brush fires do have human origins, they can also result from rotting piles of vegetation and lightning.

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And while most brush fires do have human origins, they can also result from rotting piles of vegetation and lightning.

In the Blue Hills? Unlikely. Super unlikely.

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Swirls is actually right here.

Its more common than you think, especially in urban centers where that whole 'heat island' thing that happens. Higher air heat can cause things to spontaneously combust.

My building faces westerly so after 12-1pm during the summer, the front of the building and the yard can have direct, unshaded, sun for 6-8 hours. A few very hot summers ago where we had little rain, I had a small fire start in the mulch in my front yard. Thankfully I was home and working in my front office so I immediately smelled the smoke. I was able put it out by turning on the sprinklers, but sheesh.. scary stuff. Needless to say I dont use bark mulch anymore... :-)

Secondly, Market Basket here in town was begged by the Fire Department to stop using mulch because it kept starting little fires in the traffic islands around the parking lot. Yes some of that was careless smokers, but the islands further out were purely caused by the sun.

So it does happen. Weeks of no rain really dries things out and all it takes is just a little bit of heat...

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...in your front yard. In the Blue Hills? As I said, extremely unlikely. No one's spreading eight inches of mulch in those woods, and the large majority of the reservation land is heavily shaded.

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And all it takes is a break in the trees for the sun to shine down on very dry pine needles and leaves. Those are worse than mulch as fuel for fires. Takes even less effort to start a fire with those. Mulch at least retains some water, which is why you use it (to help keep moisture in the soil) and which is why its wet when you unbag it.

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Still nothing when choosing the Read More link.

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