Typically, the winter months mark an increased threat of wildfire danger to local fire departments, and that is no different for Newton Fire/EMS.
Newton Fire/EMS Chief Steve Roberson and Harvey County Emergency Management Director Gary Denny attributed that threat to two main factors — availability of fuel sources and access.
“The percent of green — we’re talking about vegetation, and that is the fuel that we have here in Harvey County — is minimal. Things are dry; there’s no greening factor whatsoever. That’s just ripe fuel waiting for those low humidity, high temperature, high wind days,” Denny said. “And the ignition of a fuel source isn’t the issue, but it’s how quickly it spreads.”
“The other part is they’re just hard to mitigate at this time of year, too,” Roberson said, “because the ground is frozen one day but then it’s thawed the next; the top is slimy and you can’t hardly get anywhere, you can’t get out in the field to put them out.”