From the April 2013 Battle Mountain News

Post date: Jul 6, 2014 11:12:39 PM

It's a Thankless Job, but ...

... it's high time to thank them anyway. Our “sponsors” that is, the dedicated volunteers who have stepped up 166 times to monitor the Ben Lomond Camp crews over the last year on our vegetation management projects along Empire Grade: Tom Scully, Paul Gabriel, Alec Webster, Ken Gilbert, Susan Mason, Stephen Pizzo, Val Haley, Lonny Schwartz, Cobe Chatwood, Frank Crossman, Jack Heintz, Mike Sullivan, Ted Vian, Andy Hubbs, John Martinez, Tim Reilly, Kelly Runyon, Gary Conway, Nadia Hamey, Judy Kele, Kal Kele, Magda MacMillan, and Marc Roddin.

As Milton said, “They also serve who only stand and wait”. Without monitors the crews wouldn't have been able to work so hard to allow us to stretch our tax dollars, returned to us in grants, so far.

Moreover the crews (who, by regulation, we cannot thank by name) deserve our deepest gratitude; they have been central if fulfilling our Council's mission. Our debt is immense.

Pitching In

There will be two more half-day trainings this spring at Ben Lomond Camp for volunteers to monitor crews working on Fire Safe projects in the Doon: 4/10 & 11. Please consider donating a bit of your time so we can get 12-15 person days of labor for $200. Call Dianna Adams at the camp at 426-1610 for more information.

Burning Issues

Following on 1½ inches of rain in January and ½ inch in February, we had only another 1½ inches in March. After these sprinkles the fuel moistures drop back into the single digits in a day or two. With the warming weather and strong NNE winds we could have a spring to rival the wildfire potential of 2008. Though backyard burn season traditionally extends to the end of April, the State Fire Marshal could reasonably issue a statewide burn ban any day.

Please be very careful with your backyard burns. Ring your burn piles by scraping down to mineral earth around the perimeter. Have a hose and shovel at the burn and never leave it unattended. When you leave your burn, be sure that it is cold and wet.

Last month we mentioned the spot fires that we continue to see sparked by embers around our prescribed burns. In the past month, we've seen a new hazard that you should bear in mind: when we came back to check two hours later, a burn scar that was cold and wet had begun to smolder again. Even though your burn was cold and wet when you left it, go back and check it later, especially on a windy night.