A recently released article about the Dukes County Wildfire Protection Plan looks to help people become more familiar with the potential for wildfires on-Island, and take appropriate measures to mitigate their impact.

Friday, May 12^th, was a day of excitement over the eastern half of Martha's Vineyard when men from the towns of Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury and West Tisbury, and the country roundabout, in all to the number of several hundred persons, labored from 7 a. m. until nightfall, handicapped by a heavy wind, at times approaching a gale, in their efforts to control one of the most extensive woods and brush fires which has occurred on the island in years, if ever before. The property loss runs into the thousands.

The combination of dry air and gusty winds will enhance the risk for fires across the state, including on the Vineyard, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has announced.

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement warning of the increased threat.

“Local Fire Weather officials have advised that fine fuels, grasses and leaf litter, will be very receptive for ignition. In fact any fire across unshaded fine fuels can rapidly spread in these gusty conditions,” the statement said.

Edgartown selectmen this week affirmed the use of fire as a land
management tool as long as members of The Nature Conservancy continue to
work closely with the town's fire chief.

Joel R. Carlson, a fire manager for The Nature Conservancy, came
before the selectmen to answer concerns about the risk of setting fires
in wooded areas. The meeting was attended by representatives of the town
conservation commission and the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

The state's fire control plans for the 5,200-acre Manuel F.
Corellus State Forest have come under attack by the scientific community
and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a
watchdog organization. The advocacy group threatens possible legal
action to block state forest teams from clearing hundreds of acres of
woodland along strategic fire lines.

The Department of Environmental Management's Division of Forests and Parks won permission Tuesday to move forward with new efforts to manage the 5,200-acre Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

The high risk of forest fires poses a danger for residents abutting the state property. In June, Bob Durand, secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, arrived on the Vineyard with news of an initiative to address that danger.

Against a backdrop of prolonged summer drought, the threat of wildfire in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest is now high, and Island fire chiefs this week issued grave words of caution to the public.