DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — With the spring season comes the risk of wildfires.
“With the heat and lack of precipitation here, everything on the ground is pretty dry and it’s dying out," said Collin Weigel, assistant fire chief of the Colonial Park Fire Company in Dauphin County.
Weigel explains that makes conditions ideal for flames to spread.
“It turns into a cause of people having open burns, sparks, embers, ashes flying through the wind," he said.
On Tuesday, firefighters in Dauphin County spent much of the afternoon putting out a large fire on the side of Peters Mountain.
Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says every year, thousands of acres of state and private woodlands are burned by wildfires.
Nearly all wildfires in Pennsylvania are started by people, according to DCNR.
“Our biggest opponent is ourselves with all these wildfires happening," Weigel stated.
With wildfires come lots of challenges for those responsible for extinguishing them.
“Most of the time, especially in wooded areas, they’re long incidents, labor-intensive incidents that take a fire department away from our immediate response area," explained Weigel.
According to DCNR, anyone found responsible for starting a wildfire may be held liable for the damage and can also face criminal charges.
Firefighters say you can avoid all of that by being smart and listening to burn bans and other warnings.
“If you have a lot of dried-up brush in your yard that’s taking up space next to anything that could be a potential ignition or heat source we have to get that cleaned up and properly disposed of as opposed to burning it," said Weigel.
DCNR updates expected wildfire danger conditions statewide daily.
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