• July 4th Closings, Page 3

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

The little spurts of rain the county received last week weren’t enough to completely obliterate worries about grass fires this Independence Day weekend.

Cherokee County Fire Marshal Jack White cautions citizens to take heed when using fireworks for the Fourth of July.

“This year is unusual,” county Fire Marshal Jack White said. “Some parts of the county have received a quarter- to a half-inch of rain, which will help, but other parts of the county — mostly the west and central portions of the county — haven’t seen any rain in over three weeks.

“We want to urge to people to be very cautious when using fireworks, especially the aerial types,” White said. “Even after those are spent there is still a smoldering wad of debris falling to the ground, which could touch off some of the drier grasses and brush.”

According to the Texas Interagency Coordination Center’s Web site, as of June 27, the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) 14-day outlook puts Cherokee County in the 600 to 700 range.

The KBDI — designed by John L. Keetch and George Byram specifically for fire potential assessment — measures the amount of precipitation necessary to return the soil to full field capacity. Texas counties are indexed on a scale of zero, no moisture deficiency, to 800, the maximum drought possible.

“At any point along the scale, the index number indicates the amount of net rainfall that is required to reduce the index to zero, or saturation,” the TICC Web site states.

Scale levels and their relationships to expected fire potential are:

• 0 to 200 — soil moisture and large class fuel moistures are high and do not contribute much to fire intensity. Typical of spring dormant season following winter precipitation;

• 200 to 400 — typical of late spring, early growing season. Lower litter and duff layers are drying and beginning to contribute to fire intensity;

• 400 to 600 — typical of late summer, early fall. Lower litter and duff layers contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively; and

• 600 to 800 — often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep-burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels.

Law enforcement officials with the cities of Jacksonville, Rusk, New Summerfield, Bullard and Alto also remind residents the use of fireworks inside the city limits is illegal.

“The main reason we discourage the use of fireworks inside the city is they are a fire hazard,” Jacksonville Police Chief Reese Daniel said. “We will be out through the weekend, looking for those who choose to violate that ordinance.”

Rusk Assistant Police Chief Roy Cavazoz said, “If anyone is caught setting them off in town, they will receive a citation.”

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 21,000 fireworks-related injuries were treated in hospitals, doctor’s offices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and emergency rooms in 2007. Children under 17 accounted for about 11,000 of those injuries.

The total cost for medical expenses, legal expenses, work loss, and pain and suffering due to fireworks injuries equaled more than $615 million.

“Fireworks can be used safely by trained adults, but illegal firecrackers or ones that are used improperly present substantial risks,” said Clifford Jones, MD, orthopedic surgeon specializing trauma and member of the Academy’s Leadership Fellows Program in a release submitted to the Daily Progress. “If fireworks misfire or explode prematurely, the extreme force can tear or destroy bones, tissue and nerves, causing permanent damage to the body.”

The CPC’s Web site reports over the past 10 years, “30 to 33 percent of the injuries associated with fireworks have typically been caused by illegal explosives or homemade fireworks.”

The National Council on Fireworks Safety (NCFS) reports over 50 percent of sparkler-related injuries happen to children under the age of 14. The Council’s Web site states “sparklers are not toys” and encourages parents to safely supervise children when sparklers are present.