REISTERSTOWN, Md. — In the thick of winter, most of us are looking forward to the spring. Linda Neighoff and her son, Ron Snyder, are dreading it. Warmer weather brings an increased risk for brush fire.
"200 firefighters were here. It was huge. It's not something that's gonna just pop out of my mind,” Neighoff said.
On April 4 of last year, Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental Area, which surrounds both Neighhoff and Snyder's homes, caught fire.
The flames spread for hundreds of acres.
“I saw this big plume of smoke, looked down at my phone, and saw that my mom had called me three times,” Snyder recalled.
“He called, and I said, ‘Ron please go right home.’ And he said, 'why?' and I said, 'everything's on fire.'"
Neighoff's house was spared. Snyder wasn't so lucky. He lost a sawmill, sheds, landscaping equipment, and was left with a mess that took months to clean up.
But that's not what he's worried about. And that's not why he contacted us.
“My biggest struggle at this point is the fact that, what do we do now? There's a fire hazard out here every day with dead grass and underbrush, and nobody seems to want to do anything,” Snyder said.
“There’s 6-foot tall grass over there. It would burn very quickly, and it’s hard to control. […] Why can't we cut it back? It just doesn't make sense to me to leave 6 foot tall kindling.[…] I would just love to see a nice fire break. If they would just mow it down, so at least there’d be something that would stop the fire, or at least slow it down," Snyder said.
“They said they're worried about what plants are in there, but they didn't live through it," Neighoff added.
Soliders Delight is state-protected land. It's made up of a unique type of grassland that is home to many different rare and endangered species. The DNR says, after the fire, the Maryland Forest Service Firewise staff was tasked with creating a "Community Wildfire Protection Plan."
It will provide strategies for property owners to reduce the risk to their homes from wildfire. DNR says it would also help first responders in any future incidents by providing them maps and access information. Work should begin on that sometime this year.
The DNR also says it's also planning controlled burns in the spring and fall, which would reduce the fuel load for brush fires.
We still don't know what actually caused last year's wildfire, which worries Linda and Ron even more. It's worth noting last year's fire occurred after 2 winters without much precipitation.
"I don't know what happened. I just don't wanna see it happen again. That's my main thing,” Snyder said.
“I don't want to live in this fear, you know?” Neighoff said.
We've reached out to county council members and state representatives for this district to put the issue on their radar.
There's a portion of Soliders Delight where BGE has power lines, that's called a "transmission right of way." We reached out to the utility company to see if it could maintain the growth in that area. A spokesperson says they do conduct routine vegetation management in that area, but they're not allowed to do it without getting permission from DNR.
DNR also shared some tips for people to protect their homes:
Homeowners that reside in areas that adjoin wildland areas (grass barrens, forest, marsh, etc.) can take steps to protect their homes and outbuildings from wildland fire threats, including:
-Ensuring that there is "defensible space" around their homes, an open area where first responders can work to protect their property.
-Keep roofs and gutters free of flammable materials such as leaves, sticks, and pine needles
-Ensure driveways are accessible to fire equipment
-Use non-flammable landscaping materials
-Stack combustible materials such as firewood away from structures
Check the MD Forest Service Firewise Maryland pagefor more information.