Page 29 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 4 - Fall 2021

a burning safety standard that’s now part of the burner’s responsibilities. The acronym S-S-T-A-R provides details on each point:
“S” SPACE — Burn location must be no less than 25 feet from any woodlands, forestland or field that contains brush, grass or other flammable material.
“S” SPACE — Burn location must be no less than 50 feet from any structure, which includes homes, outbuildings, sheds and barns.
“T” TIME — Burning must take place between sunrise and sunset. (This allows burners more hours to get their burning completed. It also helps support air quality because smoke behaves differently during the day than it does at night, when it settles. This is expected to reduce the number of smoke complaints to the GFC and the EPD from people whose evening activities are negatively impacted by lingering smoke.)
“A” ATTENDANCE — Person responsible must attend burning
at all times until fire is completely extinguished and there is no risk for burning to escape control.
“R” REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS — Person responsible must take reasonable and necessary precautions to prevent fire escape or spread from the original location.
Some examples of reasonable precautions include: continuous pressurized water on site; man-made or natural barriers to contain fire, such as bare soil, rocks, bricks, burn barrel, etc.; hand tools or fire-containing equipment on site, such as a rake, shovel, garden hoe, etc.; and weather awareness, such as paying attention
to National Weather Service red flag warnings, High Fire designation of Very High or Extreme days, and other hazardous conditions (prolonged drought, low relative humidity, high winds, etc.).
Speaking of
the Weather
The GFC has been active at the county level, sharing information about the burn notification changes with fire depart- ments, city and county leaders, various groups and private citizens. Some of the feedback received has centered on weather forecasts and determining “good days to burn.”
GFC Fire Management Officer Kris Butler has been reminding folks about the various weather resources available to them.
“Two-day weather forecasts are avail- able through smartphones, computers and the media,” he says. “Plus, all of GFC’s tools are still available, including National Weather Service fire forecasts for all of Georgia.” The gateway to copious amounts of fire information can be found at GATrees.org/fire- prevention-suppression.
Butler feels confident that local land- owners, many of whom are certified
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FORESTRY SOLUTIONS
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YOUR OBJECTIVES.
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