Recent Downpours Bypass Honey Prairie Fire
When you are in a downpour it is hard to imagine that the fire is still burning. In the past eight days we have received 7.18 inches of rainfall near the east entrance of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and 6.68 inches at the incident command post south of Waycross. In the same period, six rain gages on the west side of the refuge, closer to the active fire, have collected between .84 to 1.60 inches. So the fire, barely dampened, is still smoldering and creeping in the Okefenokee Wilderness.
For the past few days winds have mostly been from the west pushing the fire slowly towards areas which have already burned in the interior of the swamp. At a morning briefing, Incident Meteorologist Jon Jelsema announced that, “We are expecting a strong cold front to move through the region Friday, with high pressure building back into the area over the upcoming weekend.” He added, “Much cooler conditions along with low relative humidity values are expected over the weekend.” Incident managers are expecting that the low humidity combined with North and Northeast winds could increase fire activity and spread the smoke south into Florida.
Firefighters are expecting more traffic along the roads surrounding the refuge with the start of the bear hunt. The bear hunt outside of the refuge in the Georgia Southern Zone runs from September 29-October 1; October 6-8; and October 13-15. Gary Simmons, a DNR Conservation Officer, alerted the firefighters at their morning briefing saying, “If you hear hounds watch for trucks as hunters catch up with their dogs and bear.” Later, he said, “The greatest hazard will not be from the bears but from the potential for head-on motor vehicle accidents with hunters.”
Fortunately, fire activity is far from the refuge’s major entrances. At Stephen C. Foster State Park on October 1, rangers are leading a sunset boat tour on Billy’s Lake from 6 to 8:30 p.m. For more information call (912) 637-5274 or visit www.gastateparks.org/StephenCFoster.
On October 2, at the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center, a refuge ranger will give a PowerPoint presentation on the Honey Prairie Fire from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. For more information call (912) 496-7836 or visit www.fws.gov/okefenokee. Every day of the week boat tours and canoe or kayak rentals are available inside the east entrance at Okefenokee Adventures. They can be reached at 912-496-7156.
At the north entrance, watch the Eye on Nature Show or go on a train tour at Okefenokee Swamp Park which is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For information call (912) 283-0583.
The Honey Prairie Fire has been burning since April 28 and as of September 27, 2011 has burned 309,079 acres.
09-29-11
19:15 hrs