Fire Safety(Be Prepared)

[ranchodeluxe]

Hi,just a reminder of how incredibly dry it is in most of SD.We are having cigarette and machinery-caused fires everyday. Please impress on your whole party how important it is for everyone to police themselves and others.Nobody wants to be the guy who burns out the rancher's winter pasture or hay supply,plus Volunteer fire depts resources are being stretched thin.
You can help by the following,and if anyone wants to add their own fire safety tips,feel free.

1.No smoking outside an enclosed area(your vehicle)
2.Use your ashtray(this goes for traveling down the hiway,also).
3.Don't park in tall grass
4.Carry water,shovel,extinguisher and an old blanket(Make sure that old baking soda extinguisher hasn't been sitting in the same position while beating down the road for years,this turns the retardant to concrete.Tip them over,shake them loose etc)
5.Just don't be an idiot,think about any activity(such as charcoal grilling) that could cause a fire.

Travel safe,look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks.! Thanks for your help.

 

[bknight]

On my first trip two years ago to Kansas there was a fire at Cedar Bluff SP caused by somebody leaving a fire pip without making dead sure to fire was out! My wife woke me from a nap and screamed, "There's a fire out here!" Heck of a wake up call! I raced over with my water jug and helped the firemen that arrived shortly after. It was in short grass too! Two days later we camped at Meade S.P. We never lit so much as a match but somebody's fire from the Sunday before (this was Wednesday AM at 4:00 AM) came back to life in the, easily, 50 mph wind and sparks were leaping towards waist high broome ony thirty feet away. I grabbed our chamber pot and put it out! There was no one else in the entire park but us! The rangers advised me there had been no one there camping since Sunday!!!!!!!! PLEASE make sure it is safe to even have a fire, and OUT when you are done! If my dog had not wanted to go out, I'd not have known and while the fire would have raced away from us, it could have caused a huge disaster! Looking back I'm sure we'd have been blamed as well. No grilled steak will ever be worth that!

 

[UGUIDE]

GFP NEWS - SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
GFP URGES HUNTERS TO BE AWARE OF FIRE DANGERS
PIERRE, S.D. - With archery deer, firearms antelope and the waterfowl seasons upon us, the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department is urging sportsmen to be aware of the extreme fire dangers that exist across the entire state.

"Hunters in the field can help be an extra set of eyes this time of year to help report fires," said  Division of Wildlife Assistant Director Emmett Keyser. "GFP is taking some proactive steps to help ease landowner concerns and over the past couple of weeks we've worked with South Dakota Wildland Fire to coordinate placement of a single engine air tanker (SEATs) aircraft in Lemmon, SD this coming weekend."

"We're also working to contract with a couple of volunteer fire departments who will be out conducting patrols during the antelope season, and we're pleased that SD Wildand Fire has volunteered to dispatch two of their own fire units as well," said Keyser.

Keyser advised that a GFP aircraft will also conduct patrols over the weekend in those counties along the Missouri River.

Keyser asks that sportsmen take a few simple precautions so they are prepared. He urges them to:

Equip their vehicles with a large fire extinguisher, shovel and water in case they may need to extinguish a fire.
Extinguish cigarettes with water or dirt or use an ashtray inside their vehicle.
Walk rather than drive and limit all vehicle travel to designated roads and trails.
Never park a vehicle over dry vegetation.
"By sticking to these rules and using extra caution, hunters can safely enjoy their time in the field and help ease landowner concerns," Keyser said.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Yes Please!!!!
Just spent a day on 70acres of burnt corn in Minnesota. Fire actually went two miles north to south, mostly in bean and corn stubble, but 70 acres of 180 bu @ $7.35 = $92,610.00 Keep your insurance up too! Burned a little habitat too.

 

[ranchodeluxe]

Just put out a cigarette fire 1/8 mile from the cabin,had to go in and get my 92 year-old widowed neighbor,helped her get her heirlooms out and started to cut a line around it with the old Kubota.About that time an army of neighbors came on scene with blankets and brooms,but the only thing that saved my neighbors house was the wind direction shifted and blew it back onto itself long enough for the pros to get here.Big Thanks to Johnson Siding VFD for their help and to the Red Cross for comforting the old lady so i could go back to fighting fire.Be Careful out there!We had 76 MPH gusts yesterday that would have been a whole different situation.