Wildland arsonists hard to identify, and arrests rare
The evening was ruined for Waterford firefighters before dinner arrived at their annual banquet.
Thick, black smoke pouring off nearby Laurel Mountain sent them heading for the steep hills.
“It's not like your everyday fire, like a house fire, a car fire,” said Patrick Kromel, assistant chief with Waterford Fire Company and a state fire warden. “In the mountain, it's a different animal.”
Firefighters spent hours containing 20 acres that burned last April. The Ligonier Township volunteers went back the next day when another 10 acres burned — just 1,000 yards from the previous fire.
“At that point, we started scratching our heads,” Kromel said. “Something's not right here.”
A Pennsylvania wildland fire investigator came to the same conclusion.
This summer, authorities charged a New Florence man with setting 11 fires in that area that caused $35,000 in damages.
Though arson has been the second-leading cause of wildfires across the state for the past four years, arrests are rare.
Investigators charge an average of one to four suspects annually with intentionally starting wildfires, according to Michael Kern, chief of the forest fire protection division of the state's Bureau of Forestry. The agency, which is part of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, doesn't track arrest statistics.
“If you compare that to the number of incendiary fires reported each year, you can see that the percentage is not very high,” Kern said.
In 22 years, state fire inspector Brian Vinski has secured two convictions — both in Somerset County — in blazes that he ruled arson.
“Wildland arsonists are ... very difficult to identify because, so often, they're in remote areas, they're by themselves, so there's absolutely no witness” or surveillance footage to examine, said Vinski, who works at the Forbes State Forest district office.
But an arsonist seeing an investigator poking around at the blaze site might be a deterrent, he said.
“The perpetrator eventually will make a mistake,” Vinski said. “They can't keep their mouths shut. They leave evidence. They get sloppy.”
Tracking arson
In 2010 and 2011, arson was the most common cause of wildfires in the state. A combined 252 fires burned 1,819 acres, DCNR statistics show. Coming in second in both years were fires caused by debris burning, which accounted for a combined 218 fires over 460 acres.
The costs for extinguishing all fires statewide in those two years was about $722,000.
Between 2012 and 2015, 676 incendiary fires burned more than 6,000 acres of wildlands in the state, making it the second leading cause behind debris burning which caused 1,394 fires on 2,728 acres, statistics show.
Fire-extinguishing costs for those four years topped $2 million.
Wildland fires damage or destroy trees native to Pennsylvania — oak, cherry and red maple, all valuable hardwoods — along with mountain laurel, ferns and other wild plants; habitats for woodland creatures and structures such as cabins or homes.
Wildland fires typically stay close to the ground in this region, fueled by mountain laurel or leaves, in contrast to wildfires in western states that usually consume entire trees.
Determining a cause essentially is a process of elimination, Vinski said. Fire inspectors walk the perimeter and examine patterns left behind by the flames, placing colored flags to mark points of the fire's progression.
“To do it correctly, it is extraordinarily time-consuming,” he said. “The sheer size of wildfires makes it a little more complex.”
Fighting the fire
Fighting a wildland fire — which are most common in the spring and fall — requires a different attack because of the tough terrain and lack of water.
Firefighters create a “break in the fuel,” clearing away twigs, leaves and other dry material in the fire's path by digging a line in the ground with hand tools or heavy machinery, said David Planisek, a forester in the Forbes State Forest district. Landscape features, such as a road, stream or rocks, can act as a barrier, too, he said. Firefighters also use a bureau helicopter to drop water.
Weather is an important factor that can impact flames, as is wind direction and humidity, he said.
“It requires people to keep their heads up; you're working in a dangerous environment,” Planisek said.
Afterward, firefighters “mop up,” or eliminate the possibility of a fire rekindling, by extinguishing any hot spots.
Manpower costs for state and local firefighters can be recovered through court-ordered restitution, if inspectors determine someone was at fault, Vinski said.
Costs range from $7 per hour per crew member to $25 per hour that a fire engine was in service.
Each year, Vinski trains about 20 departments in Allegheny, Somerset and Westmoreland counties on the basics of fighting wildland or brush fires. Those departments cover rural, forested areas with little infrastructure, such as the Laurel Mountain and Chestnut Ridge areas, he said.
When Fawn Township Volunteer Fire Department No. 1 got involved with training about 10 years ago, firefighters realized they were ill-equipped to battle wildland fires in the wooded Allegheny County community, said Dave Collings, deputy fire chief and state fire warden. The department began accumulating appropriate equipment, including a four-wheel drive engine and two brush trucks.
When they confronted a 10-acre brush fire last spring, firefighters knew what to do, Collings said.
“It's a totally different game,” he said. “Your head's constantly going in the middle of these things to decide what the proper attack is.”
Forest recovery
Prescribed forest burns conducted by the Forbes State Forest district promote the desirable tree species that have adapted and respond well to wildfires because of their thick bark and deep root systems, Planisek said. These controlled fires eliminate some trees — such as birches — that don't hold up to the heat and flames, while oaks “respond with vigor” by resprouting and eventually overtaking less desirable varieties.
“We love to see them; we love to have them; we love to regrow them,” Planisek said. “Oak trees are extremely beneficial for timber and for wildlife.”
After a fire, officials address any erosion problems and may move woodland material on the ground back into its pre-fire location, Planisek said. Damaged trees will rebound.
“Typically, within a month of a fire, you'll see really strong regrowth,” he said. “Mother Nature kind of takes care of itself in most cases.”
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.
