Wildfire history of Cape Cod
The wildfire potential of the forests of Cape Cod, located in southeastern Massachusetts, has been described as being the third most flammable area in the nation, behind southern California and the New Jersey Pine Barrens.[1] With the development of the Cape from the 1960s to the present, the wildfire danger has diminished but thousands of acres are still capable of burning.
History
Pre-European
Before
Colonization
In the 1620s, the Cape was forever altered by the settlement of Europeans. The settlers did not like periodic fires in their backyards, and they put out any fire before it could really burn and do damage. This, and massive deforestation by the initial settlers, led to a large amount of brush accumulating in the surviving woods of the Cape. Unfortunately for the settlers, this caused fires, when they occurred, to really burn and explode instead of burning along the ground. The forests of this time were small and spread out so there was not much potential for disaster, but that changed after
Industrial Age
The discovery of the New World led to newfound industries to many Europeans. One was shipbuilding. This was important on the Cape because the tall trees which survived the mass deforestation of the initial settlement, led to the major expansion of the shipbuilding industry. This, along with the decreased farming of the land, created an opportunity for
Modern era
In the early 1900s, the Cape started to become part of the state's fire lookout tower network. Towers were constructed in many towns to make it easier to coordinate firefighting. Massive burns occurred in the forests, larger than any seen since pre-colonial times. This was especially true on the Upper Cape, where the forests had matured more than the rest of Cape Cod.
Modern techniques for fighting these fires include
According to a study published in 2003, the Cape has a fire that burns on the hundreds to thousands of acres size every 30 to 50 years.[2] Camp Edwards was excluded from this research because it burns more with the munitions on the base.
See also
- Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England
References
- ^ Dunlop, Tom (September 24, 2004). "State Forest Tapped for Massive Clearing". The Vineyard Gazette. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
- ^ a b c d Wildland Fire and Preparedness Plan 2005. Retrieved January 30, 2013. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007.