The Greenway Association wishes to thank Bob Whitworth of Whitworth Excavating for his donation of gravel for use on the Alder Wetland’s Trail. The gift is enthusiastically appreciated!
The Greenway survived July 4 celebration! The threat of fire from fireworks is over for another year, yet the Greenway is as dry as it will be all year and, the risk of wildfire remains.
This month I will spark your memory with a brief overview of the elements necessary for a fire to begin and continue to burn, as well as how to extinguish a fire in the Greenway.
There are three elements necessary for a fire to come to life: a source of ignition such as a spark; fuel such as wood, grass, or brush; and oxygen. The three sources are known as the fire triangle. The triangle must be complete or, a fire will not be sustainable.
Once started, a fire will continue to burn when there is a source of fuel and oxygen present. Arresting the flames consists of either removing the combustible material or oxygen. Removing oxygen from a large-scale fire in the Greenway could prove to be a difficult task as it can take a lot of water to do this. Removing or altering the properties of the combustible material is the last and maybe the best option to extinguish the fire. This can be accomplished by establishing a firebreak and moving unburned fuel away from the fire.
Two sides of the fire triangle exist within the Greenway; burnable material and, oxygen. It only takes a spark to initiate a fire in the woods. Let’s all do our part to keep the Greenway fire-free. As Smokey-the-Bear states “Only you can prevent wildfires.”
The next scheduled Greenway meeting will take place on August 1, 2019, 6 PM at the GHCC.