Give Thanks AND Help to YOUR Fire Departments and Firefighters

Fighting wildfires takes the work of many many dedicated firefighters and emergency response agencies. The volunteers, the paid departments, the USFS, Park Service and VA Dept of Forestry work side by side and with many other agencies to numerous to mention all trying to protect US our homes and natural resources.

They along with me (Smokey Bear) need YOUR help. Woods ARSON is a crime. A few years ago Kentucky ran a poster that said "Arson it Costs, Cripples and Kills". Arson does cost thousands and thousands of dollars to fight and puts your lives and the lives of the firefighters in danger every time they respond to the call for help.

What can you do?

KEEP AN EYE OUT for ant suspicious activity especially in those areas where past arson suspected fires occured. REPORT any suspecious activity to local authorities. If you see a wildfire CALL 911.

THANKS !!!



i     r    e  s

 Firefighters Battle Three Fires Near Stanley VA 

The Stanley Fire Department and the Virginia Department of Forestry are battling three mountain fires on Alshire Hollow Road east of Stanley.

Arson Likely Cause of Stanley Forest Fire Stanley, Va.

Two Fires Burning in Virginia National Forest

November 23, 2010

Trails are closed in areas of the George Washington National Forest in Page County, Virginia where two forest fires have burned more than 600 acres.

The U.S. Forest Service says a fire at Burners Gap grew over the weekend from 350 acres to about 560 acres. As of Sunday, the fire was 75 percent contained.

A smaller fire about 3 miles northeast at Kennedy Peak is about 75 percent contained. That fire has burned 83 acres.

Joe Lehen with the Virginia Department of Forestry told The Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg that authorities believe humans accidentally started both fires.



Happy Thanksgiving

Smokey wishes you all a very happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks for all your help preventing wildfires and your helping to educate all those folks out there about the importance of my messages.
Only You Can Prevent Wildfires
Always Be Careful With Fire

Please enjoy the coloring sheet, I'd love to see your finished coloring sheet.

Fall Wildfire Season in the East is not over yet!!

FL   Family flees with dogs, Bible as Scottsmoor brush fire approaches

SCOTTSMOOR — Donna Watts smelled the smoke outside her camper parked in a secluded section of woods off Interstate 95 but didn't think much of it, believing it was from a cookout at a nearby hunting or fishing camp.But when she heard a commotion outside, she knew something was wrong. That's when she discovered that the woods around her were on fire.The fire started Tuesday morning when a fire pit got out of control in high winds. By late Wednesday, it had burned 615 acres west of I-95, from Scottsmoor north to the Brevard-Volusia county line. Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Florida Division of Forestry achieved 100 percent containment of the blaze.

NJ    Brush fire causes power outage

The brush fire was noticed shortly after 11:15 a.m. on Ridgewood Road in an undeveloped area in between Temple Beth Or and The Washington Grand Senior Complex, said Police Officer Heather Castronova, the department's spokeswoman.

After the building was evacuated, firefighters vented it and quickly restored power, she said.

A preliminary investigation has revealed that the cause of the fire was likely accidental, she said.

VA    Montgomery Co. brush fires ruled arson

Investigators think the two fires are related.

November 17, 2010|By Web Staff

MONTGOMERY CO., Va. — Two brush fires responsible for burning almost 450 acres in Montgomery County have been ruled arson.

According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, more than ten homes and several other buildings were threatened in a fire just west of Blacksburg.  It burned about 240 acres off of

Prices Fork Road

.

 

Tip of the Blog





Arsonists we've got your number and were NOT going to put up with it anymore! You better watch out because we looking for you.

A Great short Video on Firewise.

This takes a few moments (about a min) to load but is well worth the wait.

Check out http://www.firewisevirginia.org/ for lots more info that will help you become more Firewise! The link below akes you to the simple online test talked about in the video above. Thanks to WDBJ 7 in Roanoke and Chris Thomsen with the VA Dept Of Forestry.

http://www.dof.virginia.gov/fire/firewise-hazard-test.shtml

Smokey trivia

Did you know that the two young cubs that are seen with Smokey in many pictures were NOT Smokey’s and Goldie’s (they never had "children") but they did have names.
Do you know their names?
Check below the picture for them….

According to Rudy Wendelin’s daughter"Dad named the cubs, long after he had retired, as

Cindy -short for cinders and Sam- short for Uncle Sam."

Elizabeth C. WendelinSo there you have it their names are Cindy and Sam !

As the beautiful fall colors begin fading and the leaves begin piling up on the forest floor it does not take many drying days to create wildfire hazards. We must stay alert to these changing conditions and do all we can to help prevent wildfires. Review some of the earlier posts and visit state forestry web pages for tips. Start with ours http://www.dof.virginia.gov/fire/index.shtml

 Wildfires in the news!

Firefighters across Southern Indiana battling two large wildfires

From the sky, the fires look impossible to control, but on the ground crews were busy digging fire breaks and getting water on what they could to stop the wildfires from spreading.

From Highway 111 in Floyd County people took in a sight you’re more likely to see out west.  “It’s getting pretty close to some houses back there.  We’ve been down here twenty minutes and it’s definitely getting a lot worse,” said New Albany resident Marty Schindler.

Wildfire in gorge is contained, but destruction, hazards remain

Wildfire left 1,650 acres scarred, vulnerable

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/11/13/1522358/fires-out-in-the-red-river-gorge.html#ixzz15FiGOSJB

Local crews contain Price Mountain fire

Thursday, November, 11, 2010; 11:17 PM

Forest fires that burned up several hundred acres of Prices Fork Mountain Tuesday have been contained, and crews are currently working to prevent additional damage.

Tip Of The Blog

Wildfires: Is your home at risk?Take this test to find out.

Is your home at high, moderate or low risk?

November 11, 2010|By Jean Jadhon | WDBJ-TV Anchor/Reporter

If a fire were burning near your home, how would it fare?

Take this test and found out. http://www.dof.virginia.gov/fire/firewise-hazard-test.shtml

It's from the Virginia Department of Forestry and only takes a few moments.

There are 2 Wildlfire Prevention and Education Teams currently in place
One in LA and another in TX.

Check out http://www.southernwildfireprevention.sref.info/

Happy Hunting

Smokey is busy in Texas even with some recent raing the winds of TX have dried things out and the firefighters are begining to be busy once again.

The above poster was developed to be handed out to hunters on the National Forests tommorrow during the opening day of hunting season. The interagency wildfire prevention and education team has been working hard to develope a communication plan for various fire messages.

Think Thanks and Please



Just a short message today, Its pretty simple.. Think, Thanks and Please are 3 of the most powerful words in the English language. And when they are used by someone who is and can be trusted in a honest and meaningful way they are even more powerful.
Who can be more honest and trusted than Smokey Bear?
Smokey wants to ask you to PLEASE be careful with all fire, THINK before you start any fire and THANKS for listening!
Remember ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES.

Have a great day.

I might be unable to post anything for the next few days. Please keep checking and let your friends know about this site.

Weekend wildfire activity and Tomorrow is election day .. YOU CAN…

Here in VA we have been really fortunate recently with sporadic rains, good wildfire prevention and an aware public that wildfire starts have been minimal even over a Halloween weekend that traditionally sees an increase in fires. Many other states can not say the same.

Headlines from newspapers this morning

(NC) Discarded fireplace ashes were believed to be the cause of a fire that broke out in the woods near Shulls Mill Road on Sunday afternoon.
(SC) Three house fires and two brush fires break out around the same time in one neighborhood early Sunday morning.
(GA) Wildfire continues to burn on Lookout Mtn Georgia Forestry officials say personnel will be back on the scene Monday morning at daybreak with planes and rake crews.
(NC) Strong afternoon winds have flared up a one-acre fire on the Blue Ridge Parkway
(TX) A 50-acre forest fire has forced the Trinity County Sheriff's Office to evacuate homes near the blaze.
(WV) Fire crews battled fires throughout the weekend in a variety of spots across southern West Virginia.
(KY) A total of 19 agencies help fight the blaze.

Tomorrow is election day .. YOU CAN…

It doesn’t matter if you’re red or blue what does matter is only YOU CAN prevent wildfires. Please get out and vote, every vote counts and YOU CAN make a difference. As you leave your home take a look around (inside and out) and see if there are anything YOU CAN elect to do that will make your home more safe.

Today's Tip of the Blog
Todays tip is not really a tip but a thought for you. Below is a re-print of a response to a wildfire story. PLEASE take time to read it. And THANKS for your support!

It takes a lot to fight fires, especially when you volunteer, and that is what the surrounding departments are. Volunteers leave their own lives behind and put their own priorities on hold to make someone else's life a priority and help them. I am a volunteer firefighter myself in the surrounding area, and I always hear how firemen weren't fast enough, or how they didn’t like the fact that something couldn’t be saved. To most it just sounds like we are just spraying water to put out a fire, but in the true reality, we have to know how to read wind conditions, read smoke (whether it is woods, a home, a car, etc). Wind conditions are very vital, because it can turn a fire into a new direction right before your eyes and you not even realize it. There is one thing people should realize, yes a home is of precious value, the items inside the home are valuable and priceless, but most has a price tag on it in which we as humans do not. We can replace a home, toys, food, clothes, and although old family heirlooms cannot be saved (memories can). I was not able to be at that fire last night but I was at our station making sure our firefighters had a warm meal to come back to when they returned from fighting the fire. There are many jobs for firemen, mine is fighting fires, making sure our firemen keep hydrated to be able to fight a fire, caring for animals at fire scenes and aiding them, and making sure that our firemen are taken care of. It is a big job, but one thing is for sure, being able to fight a fire and have the knowledge it takes is of great reward. If you want to learn about fire fighting, or become a volunteer in your area, please go to your local fire station for an application. We need all the help we can get. Remember to report fires as soon as you spot them. Thank you for supporting your local fire dept.