Are we susceptible to having wildfires? That is an easy question! Yes!

Over the years, fire has become the bad environmental hazard. The EPA says that smoke particles placed into the air by prescribed burning is pollution. The EPA started regulating air pollutants back in the 1970s and became strict about smoke in the 1980s. At that point, each state adopted laws that fell under the EPA guidelines. Some state laws are more restrictive than others.

South Carolina has a law that uses the word “negligence” instead of “gross negligence.” The difference is it is harder to prove gross negligence. Under the current law, if the landowner or forester does everything that one can done to ensure the fire stays within the fire lines and the smoke disperses properly into our atmosphere and still something goes awry, the person in charge of the fire is liable in criminal and civil court depending upon the dollars involved in damages.

Will that keep you from burning your woods? About two-thirds or more of our forest fires are not prescribed burns. Why is this important? From a wildfire perspective, you cannot burn something that has already been burned. If the property is under regular prescribed fire management, a wildfire passing through will not burn nearly as hot as it would in a forest that has not been burned in decades.

What about the smoke that comes from prescribed burning? Any time one burns the woods, there is smoke; however, there are research papers after research papers that all say the same thing; there are far more particles of pollutants in the air from wildfires than there are from prescribed fires. Prescribed fires produce smoke but not nearly the amount or intensity of wildfires.

This gets us into county ordinances. Nearly every county in the state has an ordinance against outdoor burning of yards, leaf and limb debris. In the old days, many people burned their yards for multiple reasons to include burning weed seeds and thatch in thin lawns as well as to reduce fire fuel around the home and to uncover where snakes might be hiding. (The latter might not have been a good reason to burn the yard but was in most people’s minds). A friend of mine said in a complaining voice, “Every time I put my clothes out to dry, my neighbor is burning.” Hmmmm, he must have a lot of burning to do. It is an interesting concept, but all he has to do is burn at least once or twice when she is hanging out the laundry and those one or two times per year seem like every time.

However, it is the people who are against smelling smoke who have the loudest voice. I wonder what those people are doing in Lake City, Fla.? I bet they are still complaining about smelling smoke. They might be complaining about having to leave their house.

The other side to prescribed fire is our endangered species. About half of our plants and animals on the endangered specie list in our state have lost their habitat due to the lack of fires. This is an interesting concept. A bill was introduced in the S.C. Legislature to change the wording of the prescribed fire law so that more landowners would be encouraged to burn to reduce wildfire risks and increase endangered species’ habitat. The bill was squashed in the Judiciary Committee.

With fewer people burning than ever before and more laws and ordinances making it unlawful to burn, we are becoming at greater risk each day of a catastrophic wildfire like the ones in Georgia and Florida.

A note: I am very happy that our S.C. Forestry Commission employees are down in Georgia fighting the fires. First of all, they are getting experience that they are going to need in South Carolina when our fire starts. Secondly, there are reciprocal agreements between commissions in neighboring states, thus the experienced Georgia firefighters will be helping our state when we get the big one.

n Applicator training

State and federal laws require anyone who purchases or uses restricted-use pesticides to have at least a current Private Applicator’s license or to be working under the supervision of someone who has such a license.

There will be a Private Applicator’s Training (for farmers who do not currently have a license) to be held at the Clemson Extension Office on Henley Street in Orangeburg at 9 a.m. June 20. There is a lot of material that must be prepared for each participant, so it will be necessary for those who plan to attend to call in and register by June 13. This training will take all day and there is a $50 fee.

The training is also offered as a preparation course for those who plan to take the core exam for a Commercial/Non-Commercial license.

For additional information or for registration, call the Clemson Extension Office in Orangeburg at 803-534-6280.

Beth Richardson is a county agent with the Clemson Extension Service in Orangeburg.

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