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Tongass National Forest fire danger is high Petersburg, AK, Aug 2, 2013—The Tongass National Forest announced the Tonka Stewardship Integrated Resource Timber Contract began operating under an Industrial Fire Precaution Level or “Hoot Owl” restriction on August 1, 2013. Some forest activities and work are limited during the heat of the day. “This means that the contractor can only load, haul, and grade between 12 p.m. and 10 p.m.,” said Ted Sandhofer, Sale Administration Program Manager. “No felling, yarding, blasting, welding, or other sale activities may be done in the afternoon”. Industrial Fire Precaution Level restrictions lessen the chance that there could be an operations fire. “The reason that we implemented Hoot Owl was because our RAWS (remote automated weather station) in Kake recorded three consecutive days of very high readings (this means that temperatures are high fuels are very dry and relative humidity is very low),” Sandhofer explained. “We will take the restrictions off once the weather changes back to a more normal range. We implement Hoot Owl about once every 6 years or so when we get this nice warm weather.” Hoot Owl is a historic term used to notify woodcutters of elevated fire danger and to only cut in the morning hours when you can hear hoot owls. This has developed into the modern policy. “At this time, there are no additional fire restrictions,” said Acting Forest Fire Management Officer Seth Ross. “We are in a period of higher temperatures and dry weather, so recreationists should be extra careful where fire is concerned.” If you do have any type of a fire, do not leave it unattended at any time, and please make sure you take the time to put it out completely. As of Friday morning, the Tongass has four active fires: two on the Juneau District, one on the Petersburg District, and one on the Sitka District. Fifteen fires have been reported this year. For more information about Industrial Fire Precaution Level restrictions, contact Ted Sandofer at 907-772-5879. For more information about local forest fires, contact your local Forest Service Ranger District or Seth Ross at 907-945-1204.
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