With the elevated fire activity over the past week, we would like to take the time to go over Pennsylvania’s fire seasons, what they’re like, and what we do to try and lessen impacts.
First and foremost, Spring is not an unusual time for Pennsylvania to have fires, in fact it is our primary time for fires – with a flare up again in the fall. The typical pattern experienced east of the Rockies is a frequent occurrence of dry, or nearly dry, cold frontal passages over a somewhat long timeframe. This is the main mean of drying for our fuels, especially in the winter/early spring and fall. Why? Because we have deciduous trees here in Pennsylvania and they drop their leaves, allowing for a big open canopy. This means the sun can heat up the forest floor much easier than in the late spring and summer, along with limited shelter from the wind. The saving grace lies in how much snowpack we had over the winter. If we had a decent amount, all the litter and duff will be compacted and harder to dry out. On the flip side if we have a winter like we just did, where we had very little snow, the litter will still be all fluffy and easy to dry out. Thankfully, the front patterns are less likely to occur in the summer here, plus our trees are nice and green – keep those canopies shaded.
Our nation has several different times for fire seasons. Fire season characteristics are driven by seasonal and continental-scale weather patterns, their movement, and variation. Seasonal air mass and jet stream changes affect various regions at different times and in different ways. In Pennsylvania our problem times are in the spring (March through May) and fall (October through November), the Great Lakes, Northeast and Southeast all have similar patterns – unlike the rest of the nation having a “summer” fire season. However, our Spring season can extend well into summer if the jet stream remains active and brings windy/dry events that are preceded by dry conditions of two weeks or more.
We started this year already in a moisture deficit – with Harrisburg being about 3” behind on rainfall, and Philadelphia about 5-6" behind. The first three months of this year had already seen more fires than ENTIRE years previous. We have been getting rain, yes, but not enough – especially with the winds we have been seeing.
99 percent of wildfires across Pennsylvania are human caused - the top of those being from debris burning. Other causes include campfires, children, equipment use, fireworks, incendiary, power lines, railroads, miscellaneous, structure and smoking.
So, what do we do in terms of prevention, mitigation and prescribed fire?
Prescribed fire, also known as “controlled burning,” is an important tool used to grow young trees, restore native plants, control invasive species and reduce wildfire danger. It is especially important in Pennsylvania because of the large amount of land in the wildland-urban interface -- the area where our neighborhoods meet nature. Prescribed fires aren’t thrown together on a whim, they are planned meticulously and then need to be approved before they can even think about ignition. The burn plan also identifies boundaries, explains reasons for burning in that area, and states the minimum number of firefighters and equipment needed to safely perform the burn. We do acknowledge and adhere to any seasonal or temporary open burning bans enacted at the local, county, and/or state level. No burns will be conducted in the specific geographic area(s) under a Red Flag Warning during the time the warning is in effect. Highly trained firefighters use special equipment to carry out these burns. Temperature, wind, and moisture levels must remain within the limits defined in an approved plan.
We also put a lot of effort into education across the state about wildland fire prevention and mitigation. This includes forest district outreach programs focused on Smokey Bear, as well as helping homeowners learn about the Home Ignition Zone and how to keep it clean and protected. In a typical year we put on 150 prevention programs. We also provide assistance to volunteer fire departments via the Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Grant program is a cost-share initiative providing financial assistance to Volunteer Fire Companies in the acquisition of wildland fire oriented items. The key objectives of this program are to save lives and protect property in unprotected or inadequately protected rural areas. Grants can be used for the purchase of wildfire suppression equipment, wildfire protective gear, mobile or portable radios, installation of dry hydrant and wildfire training.
Let’s look at some data of the past couple years.
For the 2022 wildfire season, it was our third year in a row with over 1,000 wildfires reported – a streak which at that time hadn’t occurred since the 1980’s. 63 prescribed burns covering 1,749 acres of DCNR lands were completed. Statewide, 441 individual burns were conducted on 14,472 acres. This is a reduction in acreage burned, but wet conditions in the spring limited opportunities.
Now let’s look at 2023. Several large fires did occur across the state, the largest of which was the Crystal Lake fire, burning over 4,000 acres. Once again, the streak of over 1,000 wildfires reported continued. 50 prescribed burns covering 1,471 acres of DCNR lands were completed. Statewide, 423 individual burns were conducted on 14,600 acres. Some prescribed burning was reduced or shortened due to extremely dry conditions in the late spring and early summer.
For 2024, we will use some graphics:
And finally, a graphic showing all of the fires reported to DCNR this year, current as of 4/25/25.
