Congressman
Henry E. Brown, Jr.

One of the largest fires in state history burned through nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed or damaged more than 150 homes in Horry Country from last Wednesday to Sunday. However, had you visited that same spans of land just 20 years ago much of it was covered by pine plantations owned by timber and paper companies. These companies would maintain the land by regularly conducting controlled burns to rid the forests of the very same underbrush that fueled that massive fire on the edge of Myrtle Beach last week.

Many of the destroyed or damaged homes were built in forestlands that have not been burned with a controlled fire for years and the only effective way to prevent build-up of underbrush and debris in these vast woods is through controlled burns. Fueling the problem is some of the vegetation that grows in the underbrush — wax myrtle and holly. Both have waxy leaves that provide volatile, hot-burning fuel, kind of like gasoline.

I make this point, because I myself, am a patron of the forests and to preserve and maintain my own lands and the surrounding Francis Marion National Forest, I conduct controlled burns periodically on my property in Berkeley County. I do this to prevent wildfires that may uncontrollably burn any area that has not been cleared properly by controlled burning. This was exactly one of the factors that fueled the fire in North Myrtle Beach. Had that land been control burned, thousands of needless acres and millions of dollars of property may have been spared. More simply put, you must have good fires to prevent the bad fires. Hopefully, we can all learn from the devastation of this fire and become better stewards of the land in the future.

Read more from a Post & Courier & Sun News articles on the importance of controlled burning.

Posted by Brown Staff (04-28-2009, 04:08 PM) filed under Environment and Wildlife, Horry County

 

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