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Facing drought, Pennsylvania bans campfires in state parks and forests

Woods in daylight
Bill O'Driscoll
/
90.5 WESA
Rothrock State Forest, in Huntingdon County, Pa.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has prohibited campfires on all state park and forest lands until further notice.

The ban, announced Monday, is due to persistent dry conditions that have put half the commonwealth’s counties under drought warnings, including Allegheny County.

Wednesday’s light rains do not affect the drought warning, which was issued Nov. 1 by the Department of Environmental Protection.

“DEP makes drought declarations based on long-term trends; a rainy week may not lift the drought status for an area,” DEP acting secretary Jessica Shirley said in a statement.

The DCNR is also encouraging Pennsylvanians to avoid burning on all lands during the dry conditions. The DEP has also asked residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce nonessential water use. (Suggestions include skipping car washes, running dishwashers and washing machines less often, and checking for and repairing household leaks.)

DCNR officials note that the campfire ban followed an unusually dry September and October, during a time of lots of sun and low humidity.

“Practicing fire prevention outdoors is absolutely critical during these dry conditions,” said state Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook.

The week ending Monday had seen 100 reported wildfires in the state, officials said. Human activity causes 99% of wildfires in the state, leading to the destruction of thousands of acres of woods each year.

Bill is a long-time Pittsburgh-based journalist specializing in the arts and the environment. Previous to working at WESA, he spent 21 years at the weekly Pittsburgh City Paper, the last 14 as Arts & Entertainment editor. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and in 30-plus years as a journalist has freelanced for publications including In Pittsburgh, The Nation, E: The Environmental Magazine, American Theatre, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bill has earned numerous Golden Quill awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. He lives in the neighborhood of Manchester, and he once milked a goat. Email: bodriscoll@wesa.fm