Harlan County has suffered multiple wildfires recently as weather conditions have been dry and overall conducive to allowing fire to spread throughout the wooded areas of the county.

Harlan County firefighters and Rescue Squad members were on near-constant call, working hard to keep the flames at bay.

Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosely declared a state of emergency in Harlan County, including a county-wide burn ban to keep more wildfires, or forest fires, from starting.

Mosley mentioned some details of the declaration and the penalties for intentionally setting a wildfire on his social media accounts.

“The state of emergency will allow us to request additional resources from surrounding areas and the Commonwealth of Kentucky to provide support for existing departments,” Mosley said. “Forest Arson is a felony. Intentionally setting a fire is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines. Forest arson should be reported by calling the Target Arson Hotline at 1-800-27-ARSON, that’s 1-800-272-7766. You may also report illegal open burning while the burning ban is in effect to the Harlan County Sheriff’s Department at 573-1313 or Emergency Management at 573-6082.”

Richard Fuller of the Harlan City Fire Department and the Yoakum Creek Volunteer Fire Department gave details of his involvement.

“I was on the KY 215 fire,” Fuller said. “It was scattered out pretty well, endangering a few homes. The wind was really our biggest issue, that and dry weather conditions.”

Wildfires occurred in multiple areas of Harlan County, including the communities of Smith, Catrons Creek, Crummies and Wallins.

The causes of wildfires range from intentional arson to people burning trash or leaves too close to a wooded area that get out of control.

Fuller noted many times the wind caused the fires to spread so aggressively the firefighters had to back off a bit for their safety.

Kelly Michaels, crisis mitigation officer for the Harlan and Loyall fire departments, explained measures are being taken to bring down the chances of wildfires in the future.

“The day before the big fires really started, I applied for a $250,000 grant with the federal government for a community wildfire protection plan,” Michaels said. “That will involve paying the salary of a grant administrator and allowing that grant administrator tools and funds to put together a plan.”

Michaels explained part of that plan is to apply for an additional $10 million federal grant, which would make funding available for numerous actions to reduce the risk of wildfires.

“What that’s for is to help pay to get rid of old buildings, clean up the streets of the city. It’s an update the Harlan County Wildfire Mitigation Plan,” Michaels said. “Doing that will essentially reduce the wildfire threat for the residents.”

Michaels explained removing the fuel for wildfires is the most effective way to reduce risk.

“That involves going to people’s houses and cleaning the zone around their home,” Michaels said. “We’ve got the Daniel Boone Forest right next to us…it’s all right there next to us. The fuel load is immense.”

Michaels noted the risk of wildfires can never be totally removed but can be largely reduced. There are several actions individuals can take to help reduce the risk of fire.

“Within 30 to 50 feet of your house, remove leaves, dead branches, remove old cars or anything that contains flammable fluids,” Michaels said. “The big thing is, we live in the mountains, so we’re going to have leaves…they’re beautiful, but they are absolutely fuel to a fire. Dry leaves are the number one thing that makes wildfire mitigation tough. Get rid of old trees in your yard that are dead or dying; get rid of dead tree limbs and things like that.”

More information on preventing wildfires can be found at the American Red Cross website at www.redcross.org.