For Immediate Release

May 23, 2014

Memorial Day Fires Part 2:
Everything set up for a big fire
The days and weeks around the Memorial Day Holiday traditionally produce some of
the larger and more difficult wildfires for the Florida Forest Services Blackwater
District. This is the second part in a si!part series looking "ack at some of the more
memora"le fire events that have occurred around the holiday in the past few years.
GIESE LANE FIRE, May 25, 2013: There are some areas of the district that are
notorious for their fires. Whether its the fire behavior brought on by the fuels, the shifting
winds from sea breezes or the swampy, tough-to-plow-through terrain, there are just certain
places you dont want to have to fight a fire. The area of Pensacola bordered by airfield
!rive, "auer #oad, $illian %ighway and &orrento #oad pretty much has all of those
undesirable factors in one place ' and it was home to the ()*-acre +iese $ane ire.
,-verything set up that wee.end for a big fire,/ said 0dam Parden, orest 0rea
&upervisor for the &s -scambia 1ounty office. ,-ven in the morning, the relative humidity
was low. The only reason it probably didnt ta.e off even more than what it did was the lac.
of wind. 2t could have been worse./
2n fact, the lac. of wind was crucial. Traditionally, humidity will increase during the
evening and overnight hours, often topping out at *))3 and covering the ground and brush
with dew. &ome days, that dew is just enough moisture to help prevent a fire from starting.
The night of the (4th, however, it never got higher than 563 and went as low as *53 during
the heat of the day. 7ortheast winds pushed the early fire toward erguson 0irport and the
subdivisions of 8aui +arden and %eritage $a.es &outh. 0nything more than the light breeze
of the day and things could have been very different.
CONTINUED
Joe Zier!"#os$i
2nformation 9fficer:Wildfire 8itigation &pecialist
lorida orest &ervice ' "lac.water orestry 1enter
--mail; <oe.=wierzchows.i>freshfromflorida.com
1ellular; ?@)-()6-(6A@
9ffice; ?@)-B@A-6*4) eCt *(A
+iese $ane still proved difficult to fight because of the wet, muddy terrain and the volatile
fuels the fire was burning through. &par.s from
the torching trees and bushes were starting fires
as far as 5)) feet ahead of orest &ervice
bulldozer lines. The fire started east of "lue
0ngel but spar.s or embers wound up clearing
both lanes of traffic and ingniting the west side of
the road as well.
1ompounding the difficulty for overhead
personnel was all the factors that come with
having such a large blaze in such a high-profile
area. #oads were closed, homes evacuated and
there was almost *)) personnel on scene
between all of the responding agencies. Deeping
trac. of the sheer amount of resources ' not to
mention coordinating efforts to stop a fast-
moving fire thats threatening homes ' is not an
enviable tas..
,There are terrible fuels in that area and it was
dry but still wet enough to give you problems '
especially east of "lue 0ngel,/ Parden said.
,9nce it got around the airport, then we had to
coordinate with them, and it was a holiday
wee.end so lots of traffic, and you had all the fire
departments and it was in a high visibility area. 2t
was a lot going on at one time. 9nce we got all
the moving pieces settled down and just got to
managing the incident, it was 9D./
8any of those moving pieces are part of what
is .nown as the Wildland Erban 2nterface.
CONTINUED
Giese La%e Fire
&'EN: 8ay (@, ()*5
&'ERE: West Pensacola,
-scambia 1ounty
()RA*I+N: ** days
SIZE: ()* acres
,A)SE: -Fuipment -
transportation.
E-)I.MEN* RE-)IRE(:
Florida Forest Ser/i"e
7ine tractor:plow units.
%elicopter
iCed wing aircraft
*) firefighters
our overhead personnel
Es"am0ia Fire
&even brush truc.s
Two ladders
our engines
Two tan.ers
9ne mobile command unit
9ne rehab unit
Three -8& units
46 fire fighters
&iC chiefs
7ine -8&
Es"am0ia Sear"#
a%d Res"1e
Three units
*@ personnel
Florida 'i2#ay .atrol
our units with officers
Florida Fis# a%d &ildli3e
our vehicles with officers
#esidents can help protect
themselves from wildfire by
following basic irewise
principles.
The WE2 is where homes and development intermingles with the forested areas. This
opens firefighters up to a new realm of hazards such as eCplosive materials Gpropane, paint
cans, etcH, impediments to tractor operations Gfences, pools, sheds and other structuresH as
well as simple traffic hazards they do not typically encounter in other areas.
7ot only is the urban interface area dangerous to firefighters but theres the obvious
danger the wildfire poses to the general public.
%omeowners can ta.e steps throughout the year to help protect themselves from the
threat of wildfires. &imple yard and home maintenance practices such as .eeping eves and
gutters free from debris, trimming low hanging tree limbs up from the ground and
landscaping with plants and materials that do not readily catch fire are simple principles that
are part of a concept called irewise.
,The first step to protecting a home from fire starts with the homeowner themselves,/ said
<oe =wierzchows.i, Wildfire 8itigation &pecialist for "lac.water. ,2n eCtreme circumstances,
firefighters will have to triage homes based on their survivability. 2f a home is surrounded by
overgrown brush and bushes, it could ta.e hours to properly protect it. Those are hours
personnel might not have or could spend protecting multiple homes that reFuire less wor..
&ometimes, homes are deemed unsavable and crews simply have to move on to the neCt
one./
or more information on ma.ing your home or community irewise, visit firewise.org
MEM+RA4LE FIRES AR+)N( MEM+RIAL (A5 6 RELEASE (A*E, FIRE NAME, (A*E +F FIRE
8ay (); -lvis #oad ire, 8ay (*, ()*( ' &anta #osa 1ounty ' @@ acres
May 23: Giese La%e Fire May 25, 2013 6 Es"am0ia ,o1%ty 6 201 a"res
8ay (6; 2ndian "ayou ire, 8ay (A, ()*) ' &anta #osa 1ounty ' (AB acres
8ay (?; 0valon %angar ire 8ay (B, ()*5 ' &anta #osa 1ounty ' *@@ acres
8ay (?; 7orth &anta #osa ires 8ay (B, ()*5 ' &anta #osa 1ounty ' B separate fires
in one general area for (65.@ acres
8ay 5); 8ain !rive <une (, ()** ' 9.aloosa 1ounty ' B@ acres
CONTINUED
END