Burning Bans and Wildfires

 The Thrift Rocketeer blog continues....

It didn't occur to me until after I had done it.

I wanted so badly to launch a low power rocket or two, that I gathered up my stuff on a Sunday and headed for our club launch site.

To be fair, I shouldn't have tried to fly on such a windy day, but I did pay close attention to the wind direction and speed in the weather forecast prior to the weekend.  It turns out that the winds were 8 mph out of the NW with gusts to 13.  And I thought if the wind slowed, I could get one up in the air on an A8-3.

Turns out I was only half right, as the winds were slowly picking up, and it turns out the anemometer is not placed in the optimal position for monitoring the winds.  Just a convenient spot near a one story building.  This means the winds may be dammed up against that building, or lift over it, affecting the accuracy of the reports.

I did get my lone rocket into the air on an A8-3, but I wasn't very satisfied with the flight. It didn't seem to hang in the air on the small Estes parachute the way I would have liked.  And it came down rather quickly on the grass ball diamond just a little downwind of the one story building that was near me.

Stupidly, I decided that I should try a B6-4 and get a higher flight.

I had some trouble getting the igniter to fire the motor, but it did go up...and up...and away...far away.. over the tree line...and vanished.  After two days of looking, I've never found it. (It's OK, it was a bright yellow and purple Easter themed rocket with plastic fin can and hardly worth the effort.)

I figured out what I had done wrong.  The low, short flight of the A8-3 was due to a wind turbulence that swirled in the down-wind eddy beyond the one story building. In short, the winds were forcing the rocket and small chute down in the lee behind the building. 

But when I launched on a B6-4, not only had the winds picked up more steadily, but the rocket punched up and out of the eddy and was immediately caught by the 15 mile NW cross winds that took it away without the chute ever having opened.  In short, I should have noted the winds and called off the second flight.

It was on the way home that it dawned on me that I may have committed another more serious sin.


 While there was no wildfire alert due to the higher winds that day, there would be one in just a few days time.  The relative humidity had dropped, the winds had increased again, and the day was bright.... just right for a wild fire to get out of hand. 

But on this Sunday, there was a regional outdoor burning ban in effect from 6 am to 6 pm March 1st to May 31st.  It didn't occur to me, but had the neighboring property gone up in flames, I would have been liable.   Or would I?

I was at a recognized launch point, using club equipment and we're a NAR club. I had checked the wind speed and it was below threshold when I started.  And technically, I was not burning rubbish or yard waste at all.  And the motor would have burned out in a matter of seconds in the air, so it wouldn't have been considered burning. 

I decided to ask two of my "Elmers" what they thought... were we at risk for violating a burning ban in the region.  Both knew nothing of the restriction. And once explained, they both came down with a firm "No, it doesn't apply to us."   I agree, but only to a point....

If we're talking about a regional outdoor burning of rubbish ban, we're not doing that. 

But if we're talking about an elevated risk of "wildfire" spreading.... I think the authorities would take a dim view of our activities, no matter how careful we were. We always have on hand:

  1.  4 gallon jugs of water at the launch line.
  2.  2 fire swatters and volunteers manning them
  3.  a heads up policy for most flights, especially sparkies or other stunt launches
  4.  a limit on use (or abuse) of black powder motors
  5.  a range safety officer who not only inspects the new rockets, but also watches for unsafe practices
  6.   contact information for local fire departments AND the route to the nearest hospital

So, I don't feel that we're at undue risk for wildfire, but I still think during those elevated risk days, we might want to think twice.  

What do you think?  The Thrifty Rocketeer wants to know your opinion...

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