Dry Leaves, high winds and lack of precipitation leaves South Windsor at risk of being engulfed in fire. Since late October, South Windsor has been living under a red flag warning.
According to Michael Slifer, a meteorologist for Channel 3 Eyewitness News, in the months of September and October Connecticut saw a total of 1.17 inches of rain.
This lack of precipitation led to the South Windsor Fire Department declaring a Stage 2 Drought Advisory along with a Red Flag Warning.
“The weather conditions can be expected to cause erratic fire behavior,” Kevin Cooney, the South Windsor Fire Department Chief, stated.
Though for the first time in nearly three months, South Windsor received a small amount of rain from November 21 to November 23. Yet, even with the rain, South Windsor is still at risk.
In an interview with The Prowl, Slifer explained “even if we had a little bit of rain recently, the wind will be strong enough to keep the fire concerns around.”
A brush fire is defined as an uncontrollable fire ‘under brush’. It will burn through dry and dead vegetation easily. With lack of precipitation, underbrush can ignite and spread much faster.
“Brush fires can be dangerous for many reasons: access could be limited… and can also burn quickly. All of this is enhanced dramatically under severe dry conditions,” Cooney stated.
Currently, all forms of open burning are banned by the South Windsor Fire Department. These open burnings include fire pits, fireworks, sparklers and even open fire grills. Even the slightest spark can trigger a raging fire.
During the time of the ban, SWFD has responded to six brush fires, though they were less than an acre large making them easier to extinguish.
On November 8, 2024, a partially extinguished fire pit led to embers re-igniting and spreading. The embers caught nearby dry material causing the outbreak of an uncontrolled brush fire.
The SWFD responded with four engines, two to extinguish the fire, one stationed at a fire hydrant and one on the nearby street extinguishing the fire which spread to a neighbors front yard.
Chris Statz, a witness to the fire, recalled the event. “I saw that the brush fire had spread to the adjacent fence by the time we got there.The fire seemed mature enough at that point to resist the water for a little while.”
The dry brush and high winds cause a small spark to destroy a brand new fence and an adjacent yard. Luckily the SWFD responded fast enough to where no one was hurt.
Thankfully, South Windsor received rain at the end of November and snow on December 5. This precipitation led South Windsor out of a red flag warning, for now.
