Ecology

Wildfire

Anne Gageby
Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve

(7/2023) Wildfires shaped the summer of 2023 in a variety of ways. The Canadian wildfire smoke traveled down the East Coast and brought orange-tinted skies. We had multiple days of code red air quality alerts because of the smoke-filled air. And then came the tragedy in Maui. Every news cycle seemed to have another round of stories and it begged the question: does Pennsylvania have wildfires? The answer is a resounding yes.

Over the last few years, it seems as if the news has covered all sorts of wildfires - Australian and Canadian, wildfires out west, and of course, Maui. But we rarely hear of wildfires in our home state. And yet, over the last three years, the number of Pennsylvania wildfires has nearly doubled. 1,507 wildfires burned a total of 3,033 acres in 2020 alone. This year Pennsylvania experienced three major wildfires. A fire in Centre County burned thousands of acres back in April. A month later, a fire burned 162 acres near Shade Mountain. And let’s not forget the April 12th Crystal Lake Fire, which burned over 4,000 acres in the northeastern portion of the state and caused the Pennsylvania Turnpike to temporarily close its northeast extension.

The greatest danger of wildfires occurs in spring – March through May. And then again in the fall during October and November. For wildfires to occur, conditions must be just right. It must be dry overall with low relative humidity. There needs to be an available fuel source such as dried leaves, grass, and debris. In Pennsylvania, people cause 99 percent of all wildfires, usually from activities such as burning debris like yard waste and trash. One moment of carelessness with a backyard burn pile can quickly become a woodland tragedy as fire spreads through dead grass and leaves into neighboring forests.

Wildfires can, and do, occur at any time of day and during every season. However, spring and fall are peak fire seasons. Bare trees in early spring allow more sunlight to reach the forest floor which dries surface fuels such as leaves and forest debris. Add in a warmer-than-usual winter in which little snow has accumulated, and it creates a perfect environment for sparks to take hold. Similarly, in autumn, falling leaves pile high on the forest floor and create a deep layer of debris. Windy days hasten the drying process and create a hazard.

Unfortunately, climate change is creating a perfect storm of hotter and drier weather patterns which, in turn, creates longer and more dangerous fire seasons. This past summer is a perfect example of that. Little precipitation put Pennsylvania on a statewide drought watch. By the end of August, twenty counties, including Adams, remained on watch. As September rolled in, things were looking pretty dire from where we stood at Strawberry Hill. Swamp Creek, which runs through Strawberry Hill’s campus and joins Middle Creek at the edge of our property, had dried up. It was a terrible sight and something those of us who live on Mount Hope recall never seeing in our lifetimes. The bone-dry creek looked like something out of a wasteland. Middle Creek was only slightly better with a small ribbon of water still flowing. The bit of rain we’ve experienced over the last two weeks has been blessing – for the creeks and the forest alike.

As destructive as wildfires can be, fire as an element is an important part of maintaining a healthy and diverse ecosystem. When fires burn appropriately, they consume leaf litter and forest debris such as dead wood and understory brush which benefits the forest as a whole. It helps maintain native plant species and provides an opportunity for fire-dependent plants and trees to flourish. Almost every region of the United States has such species. Here in the Northeast, pitch pine "barrens" are home to a variety of rare insects and animals that are dependent upon fire to shape their habitat and cut down competition from non-natives.

Generally, natural fires occur in pine barrens every six to 25 years. A variety of pine species have adapted to not only resist fire with a thick, armor-like bark but also have come to depend on fire to reproduce. Mountain pine, which grows on dry, rocky land around Appalachia, reproduces via serotinous cones. These cones are sealed shut with pine resin and can only be opened when a fire rolls through the forest, melting the "glue" holding the cone together.

In Pennsylvania, oak and hickory forests are a common sight. Natural fires occur every 25 years or so. Most oaks have adapted to survive surface fires by growing thick bark and sprouting from the base of trees after fires have become memory. Because oak and hickories don’t reproduce well in shade, fires can help control the competition by eliminating shade-producing thick canopy cover as well as dense underbrush.

The benefits of fire are well-known, if not always appreciated. Native Americans have used controlled burns for ages to protect and nurture healthy forest ecosystems. However, the United States government implemented a policy in 1886 that banned all fires in national parks. This policy was incorporated in the National Parks Act of 1916. The general belief at the time was that fire killed seedlings, created erosion-prone environments, destroyed vital soil nutrients necessary for new growth, and destroyed wildlife habitats. It wasn’t until the 1920s or so that the US Forest Service began to acknowledge that certain areas of the US actually benefited from prescribed burns. Opinions didn’t change until the 1950’s when researchers, foresters, and government officials began to accept controlled burns as a management tool.

Today, Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources utilizes the Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Standards which outlines procedures and planning for the use of prescribed fire. The Pennsylvania Prescribed Burning Practices Act of 2009 further defines prescribed fire as a management tool that benefits the entirety of the Commonwealth.

Fire is one of the most important instruments of change, one that humans have harnessed for ages. Using fire for heating and cooking was one of the first major developments in civilization. As an element, it is both beautiful and terrifying. And to the forest around us, it can be merciless, unyielding, and very much necessary.

Anne Gageby is the Environmental Education Manager of the Strawberry Hill Foundation. Strawberry Hill inspires stewardship of our natural world by
connecting the community with educational opportunities.
 Learn more by visiting StrawberryHill.org.