The wind, however, will be accompanied by snow across the higher elevations of the Black Hills which is a very good thing. Good because over the past week hundreds to thousands of piles have been ignited across the area. This includes giant "machine piles" which can burn for several weeks. Piles are lit when sufficient snow cover exists but that snow cover may melt or sublimate before the pile is fully extinguished. This can allow the fire to spread beyond the pile and into the surrounding landscape.
The past few days have been warm and dry and some south-facing hillsides might have lost their snow cover. I have some limited concerns for pile escapes with the wind tonight if the precipitation is not observed. I doubt we'll have large issues but it is something to keep in mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment