Agricultural News
New Southern Plains Perspective Blog Post Explores Oklahoma's Wildfire Season
Fri, 19 Nov 2021 10:12:21 CST
In this blog post Clay Pope talks about future yield change data from ProPublica. Spoiler alert: It does not look good for the Southern Plains. See this blog on the Southern Plains Perspective website by clicking or tapping here.
"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin
You guessed it- I'm using this blog to start harping again about getting ready for extreme weather events. This time I'm wanting to know if you're ready for wildfire season.
Fires can happen almost any time on the southern plains. Dry conditions and high winds always help spur the risk of out-of-control blazes but from November to March when plants are largely dormant, we face especially high wildfire danger.
Have you checked the calendar lately?
Just like it's never a good plan to try and build a boat during a flood, its not a good strategy to wait until you see smoke on the horizon to prepare for wildfire. With that in mind, I wanted to pass on some suggestions from our partners at Oklahoma State University about how we can better prepare our homes, ranches and farmsteads for the dangers posed by wildfire.
Here are a few of their suggestions:
First-Survey the status of your home, out buildings and equipment. If you were in the path of a wildfire and help is delayed or not available, how would the property handle the blaze?
Next-Keep the area around your home or farmstead mowed down short and make sure any kind of flammable shrubs or trees are a safe distance from your home or buildings.
Prune the limbs of your trees to prevent fire spreading to the crown of trees.
Clean up other flammable items around your home and buildings, including firewood. Stack or store firewood a safe distance away from them.
Consider the fire entry points of your home. Keep windows and doors shut on barns to prevent the entry of flying embers.
Identify bare ground or a gravel area where equipment can be stored in case of a fire.
Spread out a hay supply - don't store all your hay in one spot.
Develop a livestock contingency plan. Determine places where animals can be moved to-like to a trampled down area or a corral-until the fire passes.
Check with your insurance company for details of current wildfire coverage. Make sure your policy is up to date and determine if the plan needs to be enhanced.
Remember also that wildfire isn't just a rural issue. Suburban areas are at risk too, especially those on the edge of metro areas where heavy fuel loads grow right up to the edge of housing developments. Also remember that the more you can do to reduce fuel load, the less risk we have for wildfire when conditions develop. Longer term strategies like prescribed fire are helpful in controlling invasive species like eastern redcedar and reducing the amount of dry vegetation that can help fuel an out-of-control blaze.
For more information on what you can do to better prepare for wildfire, check this out.
Let's try and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to wildfire preparedness. Tis the season after all.
Read more from Southern Pains Perspective by clicking or tapping here.
Listen to episodes of the Southern Plains Perspective podcast by clicking or tapping here.
The blog deals with climate change, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that was released recently and the role research, specifically LTAR, can play in helping Agriculture deal with what's heading our way.
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