New London Fire Department fights brush fire

On Saturday, April 8, the Fire Department answered a call to help extinguish a brush fire.

A fire set to burn a prairie for midterm management back burned against the wind into a woodland area.

While the drought has been broken, the litter on the ground in unmanaged timber areas is very dry and easy to burn. Additionally, the wind does not reach ground level and a fire burn in all directions as long as there is fuel to feed it. In this case the fire reached timber that has not been touched in over 30 years.

In unmanaged timber, the fear that wild junipers will catch flame is paramount.

The New London volunteers did their stellar work in poor conditions. It was very difficult to get vehicles to the site of the fire.

Then in order to fight the fire, the crew had to beat their way through multiflora rose and scrub oak use the equipment needed.

A full complement of tools was used including chain saws. The backup water trucks were parked some distance from the fire because of the difficulty of the terrain and possible soaked soil in some low areas.

The cooperation between all the local volunteer fire departments is outstanding. Just as New London helped cover the Danville area when their crew was called to Mediapolis to help after the tornado hit, Danville was at this fire to assist New London.

A brush pile was doing a slow burn. The Danville team work on dowsing it so it would not spread. Another group from Mt. Pleasant helped as directed. The best thing is that no buildings or persons were endangered. The quick action of all ensured a safe ending.

It is important to pay attention to the guidelines for a controlled burn. The 60-40 rule restricts the burning conditions to air temperatures less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity greater than 40% with wind speeds of 5-15 miles per hour measured at 6 ft above the surface of the ground. Check with your local fire department for advice.