August 18, 2020
Please put on your Smokey the Bear hats! Despite the recent rain, we want to echo Mass state warnings about our current DROUGHT STATUS. The bottom line is that the CAPE has an increased risk of fire. “While most regions of the Commonwealth are experiencing a classic long-term drought, the Southeast, Cape Cod, and Islands regions are experiencing conditions akin to a ‘flash drought’. — Extended drought conditions have rendered grasses, shrubs and forest fuels very dry across most of the state, and extremely dry in areas of the Southeast, resulting in increased wildfire risk and added challenges for firefighting agencies. Long term precipitation deficits have also led to extremely dry soil conditions, which results in fires burning deep into the ground, and taking multiple days to extinguish. These conditions exhaust local resources and increase risk to firefighter safety. Fire officials remind the public to be very aware of this situation, and to be careful with all open burning and disposal of combustible materials. For more info go to: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/current-drought-status?blm_aid=59248
