MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930
What a beautiful day!!! Low
humidity with a warm breeze and no rain, sounds like a great day, however, it’s
the type of day that firefighters know could be busy with brush fires. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a
statement describing today's weather also brings an “enhanced threat for
wildfires this afternoon and early evening…”
Here is the NWS statement:
...ENHANCED THREAT FOR WILDFIRES THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING...
NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 15 MPH WILL FREQUENTLY GUST BETWEEN 20 AND 25
MPH DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. RELATIVE HUMIDITIES ARE EXPECTED TO
DECREASE TO AROUND 30 PERCENT THIS AFTERNOON AND FUEL MOISTURE WILL REMAIN LOW
DUE TO LITTLE RAINFALL OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY
WINDS... LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND LOW FUEL MOISTURE WILL ENHANCE THE THREAT
FOR THE
SPREAD OF WILDFIRES THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. WINDS ARE FORECAST
TO DIMINISH BY SUNSET.
While everyone should practice good common sense fire safety
habits at all times we ask that you pay particular attention when the NWS
issues these weather statements. The civilian, career and volunteer members of
the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department ask you to follow these fire
safety tips to avoid the possibility of accidentally igniting a fire outside.
• Dispose of smoking materials in an appropriate container and
ensure they are completely extinguished. Do not discard these items into any
open area as they may start a fire that will spread rapidly. Do not dispose of
smoking materials out of your vehicle when traveling
• Business owners and property managers should have appropriate
containers that include water in areas where smoking occurs outside so
materials can be disposed of safely
• Do not burn brush or trash ever without appropriate approval
• Be extremely careful and pay full-time attention if you will
use outside grills or cooking equipment during these times. If you cook
outside, ensure you have some type of extinguishing agent nearby (water hose,
bucket of sand, fire extinguisher, etc.). Never leave the grill unattended
• If you have fireplace ashes/old charcoal from your grill; you
must put them into a sealed metal container placed on a concrete surface away
from any structures. If possible - wait to clean your devices until this
weather event is over
• Workers using power tools that generate sparks need to mindful
that a fire could ignite from those sparks. Wet down brush areas before
working
• Use common sense and practice sound fire safety habits
Citizens, visitors and business can help us by keeping safety
first and if you see a fire, call 911 immediately. The sooner we can respond and contain the fire the sooner we can extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading.
Comments
Post a Comment