Let it burn — but very carefully
By Anya Tikka
DINGMAN TOWNSHIP — Pike's burn ban was lifted by the county commissioners on May 3. But Dingman Township officials say this is no time to get lackadaisical.
“The burn ban was lifted because of the recent rainfall we’ve had," said Dingman Supervisors Chair Tom Mincer on the day the ban was lifted. "But people can’t be careless. It dries up quickly.”
Because of the unusually warm and dry winter, the woods are filled with branches ready to burn, he said.
The commissioners wrote in their resolution lifting the ban: “There has been significant rainfall while more rain being forecast.”
The Sixteen Mile fire in Monroe County that started two weeks ago spread to about 9,000 acres before it was brought under control by firefighters and, eventually, rain. Mark O’Brien, chair of the Dingman Township Fire Department, said Dingman had been at the fire on the first day, when it was still only 900 acres, and then again on Sunday, when they were asked to keep watch on a parking lot.
“Eleven structures on state and private land were destroyed by the fire,” he said. "Outbuildings and cabins.”
Mincer noted that the long-burning fire sent smoke down to Pike County.
“I had smoke from that fire all the way in Dingman Township,” he said.
The dry conditions caused smaller brush fires around the area. O’Brien said brush fires racked up more dispatched calls, at 10, than any other cause.
He said the county enforced its own burn ban without Dingman getting involved.
Mincer and O'Brien, who were at the scene, said they saw 12 state trooper cars, county emergency personnel, Milford Police officers, county commissioners, and National Park Service rangers there too.
Leanna, 17, has been missing since April 18. She’s 17, 5 feet, two inches tall, 150 pounds, with long blond hair and blue eyes, but could have changed her appearance by cutting or coloring her hair. (See related story on page 1 or online at http://bit.ly/1ZiMtjH.)