Pennsylvania distributes wildfire funds on Smokey Bear anniversary
The funding is from the latest round of grants announced by the state
"Too often in our spring wildfire season, volunteer fire companies are kept jumping from one wildfire to the next," said State Forester
Grants totaling nearly
The
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"We have a general project of trying to improve our wildfire equipment. Much of it is dated and inadequate," Banker said. "We did an assessment and came up with a number of things we needed to do that were far in excess of the grant."
The leaf blower will serve a similar purpose as a rake -- to cut a fire line to arrest the spread of the brush fire, he said.
"You can do that much faster and efficiently with a leaf blower, using it as a tool to create a fire break," Banker said.
"Any grant program like this is very much appreciated because they allow us to do things that we would not do otherwise because we just don't have the money," Banker said. "We put together a comprehensive program. We were willing to make the investment of some of our funds to make it come about."
Banker noted that because wildland fires often are fought by multiple companies, the benefit of new equipment goes beyond the one department receiving the grant.
The department also plans to purchase new turnout gear and backpack units that are used in the fighting of wildland fires, Perfetta said.
"It helps a lot. We're very appreciative of the grant," he said.
Between 2012-15, 676 incendiary fires burned more than 6,000 acres of wildlands in the state, making it the second-leading cause behind debris burning, which caused 1,394 fires on 2,728 acres, according to DCNR statistics.
Fire-extinguishing costs for those four years topped
Other southwestern
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