The above normal rainfall from this past Spring and Summer here in South Texas, followed by drier than normal conditions this Fall have led to conditions that could to lead to wildfires in the coming weeks, as the fuel load from good forage growth, which is now drying along with drying soils and lower humidity, provides the perfect conditions for wildfire on our rangelands and pastures. To address this issue, the National Weather Service’s 2010 South Texas Fire Weather and Drought Partners meeting will be conducted on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at the Del Mar College - West Campus, 4101 Old Brownsville Rd, Corpus Christi, Texas. The meeting will be held in the Emerging Technologies Building, Room 105, with registration beginning at 8:00 a.m. followed by the program from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
This meeting is designed for wildfire and prescribed burn interests, farmers and ranchers, broadcast and print media, and emergency managers. The meeting will provide a detailed outlook for the 2011 fire season, comparisons of this season to recent wet to dry pattern transitions, drought outlooks, lessons learned from recent prescribed burns, decision making in ranching based on weather predictions and much more. Pesticide applicators will be awarded 3 CEU’s for participating in the meeting.
Specific topics to be addressed will include; Fire and Drought Management, Impacts of Wet to Dry Season Transitions, Texas Forest Service Predictive Services Outlook, Lessons of Recent Prescribed Burns in Drought Stricken South Texas, Spring Outlook from State Climatologist, Benefits of Prescribed Burning, Decision Making in Ranching base on Weather Predictions, Pasture and Range Management, and Pesticide Laws and Regulations Update.
Sponsors of this program include; The National Weather Service, Texas Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, Office of the Texas State Climatologist, Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas AgriLife Extension Service. All those planning to participate are asked to pre-register by December 8, 2010 to Jason Runyen via e-mail @ Jason.Runyen@noaa.gov or 361-289-0959 ext 1, as attendance will be limited to the first 100 RSVPs.
Individuals with disabilities, who require an auxiliary aid, service or accommodation in order to participate in any of the mentioned activities, are encouraged to contact the County Extension Office eight days before all programs for assistance. Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
