Wild
Fire at Indiantown Gap Spreads to Stony Valley (SGL
211)
On April 29th, a brush fire on Indiantown Gap Military Reservation land consumed hundreds of acres before spreading north over Second Mountain into Stony Valley. At the first sign of smoke the Gap told the news media that only 25 acres were involved in the fire. There were no updates provided after the fire spread over the top of the mountain and into Stony Creek.
Location: The only information available comes from the website http://geomac.usgs.gov/ which lists the coordinates as N 40 degrees, 27’. 58” and W 76 degrees, 36’, 23”. While this reported location is indeed on “Gap” property, it is about 2 ˝ miles east of the actual easternmost extent of the burn. It is even on the wrong topographic quadrangle (Indiantown Gap). It is hard to believe that a government or military capable of dropping a bomb down Kadafi's chimney in Libya can be so far off in the officially reported location. A more accurate location would be on the Grantville Quadrangle at Boyer Gap where the fire burned over the mountain into Stony Valley. The coordinates here are N 40 degrees, 26”, 35” and W 76 degrees, 40’, 53”. The easternmost extent of the fire is on top of Second Mountain, 1 ˝ miles west of Cold Spring Road and the westernmost extent is 7 ˝ miles west of Cold Spring Road for a total east-west burn distance of 6 miles.
Cause of Fire: For weeks the cause of the fire was unknown, but we eventually learned that it was the result of a tracer flare used by the military. This happened during a Lebanon County burn ban (and fire warnings for Dauphin County and much of the state). This type of equipment should not be used during times of fire danger. The fire was assumed "out" after the first day but, in fact, it continued to spread.
Extent
of Burn: The
above website gives the area as 350 acres but this is as
erroneous as the coordinates.
Observations and GPS reading by Coalition members
indicate about 200 acres of Gamelands burned alone.
We did not walk or GPS the entire perimeter so
this should be considered as an estimate.
We did not measure the burn on “Gap” land but
had a good view of it from Boyer Gap and it appeared to
be many times the size of the burn on Gamelands.
Ironically, the area of Stony Valley which was
burned is part of the same area which the Gap has
proposed to acquire, lease, or otherwise control as a
buffer area for new firing ranges.
Damage: Luckily this was not the type of fire where everything is burned off. The large trees will probably survive but the smaller trees were burned to a height of about three feet and many may not survive. The greater damage was done to wildlife. The nests of ground-nesting birds such as grouse and turkey were probably destroyed. As with any woods fire, slow moving animals such as turtles and snakes would be affected.
Chronology of burn and efforts to control it: Some years ago the Gap clear-cut a swath 100 – 150 feet wide along the top of Second Mountain for many miles. Some of it is on “Gap” land but most of it is on Gamelands (the Game Commission was never compensated). A dirt road was developed along the north side and the rest was allowed to grow back as (dry) grass and scrub. After initiating whatever plan they had locally they bulldozed this road to create a firebreak and better access for firefighting equipment and crews. There is some evidence that the fire was already there in spots when the bulldozer arrived. This plan worked pretty well except for at Boyer Gap, about 2 ˝ miles miles west of Cold Spring Road. The elevation here is about 200 feet lower than the rest of the mountain so the fire had a much easier time passing through into Stony Valley. Once through the gap the fire could easily burn uphill to both the east and west as well as about 900 feet towards Stony Creek. We don’t know when outside help was called or how many fire companies responded, but it is known that a forest fire crew from Haldeman State Forest south of Lykens / Elizabethville was on the scene. Several helicopters were used to drop water on that portion of the fire which entered Stony Valley. At some point the Game Commission was notified and an employee was dispatched to investigate. His report has not yet been released.
Conclusions: We are lucky the fire was not much worse. Our motto of “Not One Square Foot” is under attack since this fire scorched about 8,712,000 square feet ! This is yet another example of how the military has a complete disregard for natural lands and the laws and rules the rest of us must obey. When they clear-cut the south side of Second Mountain several years ago, Manada Creek was nearly destroyed by silt and runoff. State regulatory agencies such as DEP and DCNR are reluctant to take enforcement actions. If the “Gap” gets an agreement to use some of Stony Valley for a buffer area there will be more fires, roads, fences, signs and restricted access to the Valley via Cold Spring Road. The Coalition has never been anti-military and most of us are veterans. We just need to keep them on the south side of Second Mountain and out of Stony Creek Valley.
The aftermath: The Gap widened miles of the ridgetop firebreak or road. The extent of this project clearly required permit, but, in disregard of environmental statutes, the work went on without the proper permits.
To read more about the permits... click here. BACK HOME