April is known for a lot of things, such as the opening of the baseball season and being the time taxes are due. On Staten Island, April is also known for something else: Brush fires.
The combination of dead vegetation and warmer temperatures turn wetlands and areas buffering wetlands into tinder boxes. All it takes is a spark. Evidence of this could be seen for miles on Sunday as columns of smoke loomed in the sky from a massive brush fire that charred a wide swath in Oakwood Beach.
Even the heavy rains of a few days before didn't prevent the Easter Sunday fire from going out of control quickly. It took 250 firefighters from around the city four hours to extinguish the 40-acre inferno. One home was destroyed and several others suffered damage.
Burnoffs of dead vegetation are a natural feature of spring in many parts of the country. But there are two important distinctions here: One is that this is a borough of one of the largest cities in the world; the neighborhoods around these fire-prone areas are filled with houses and people. Firefighters can't simply let these fires burn themselves out.
The other is that the primary fuel for these large fires isn't natural to Staten Island at all. Phragmites, those tall weeds with the fluffy tops, are an invasive species. Even though these reeds can now be found in wetland areas all over the country, the most aggressive species were introduced to the U.S. from Europe in the 18th century.
With their resins and abundance of thick vegetative material, phragmites are also extremely flammable. They're what made Sunday's fire as fearsome as it was. And with their dense root systems, they quickly revive after a fire or mowing.
Common sense should dictate that phragmites be eradicated or at least controlled so as to be kept well away from populated areas, given the fire danger they pose. But the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which regulates such wetlands, is very protective of all the vegetation in them, even if that vegetation is an unnatural infestation.
The DEC does allow homeowners in some areas at high risk for brush fires to clear phragmites to create firebreak between their homes and this potential fire hazard. However, the DEC requires an affected homeowner to first get a permit and homeowners can clear phragmites only within 50 feet of their homes.
Borough President James Molinaro first called attention to this little-known DEC program seven years ago, and has regularly urged Staten Islanders who live near wetlands to sign up for it. (Call the Borough President's Helpline at 718-816-2000 for more information.)
However, as demonstrated in the weekend fire and in previous major brush fires, a 50-foot firebreak is no match for a roaring, 70-foot-high wall of phragmites-fed flames, as some shaken residents described seeing on Sunday.
South Shore City Councilman Vincent Ignizio said when he toured the blackened landscape in Oakwood on Monday, "They've got to give more of a break than a 50-foot buffer."
He's right. The DEC has long resisted increasing the allowable clearance for firebreaks and a spokeswoman deflected the criticism on Monday by insisting that the current rule had been in place "for some time," thereby implying it was working fine.
But residents who got an up-close and far-too-personal look at this latest fire say otherwise.
Anthony Puglia, whose pool was destroyed and house was heavily damaged by the fire, said "I guess they [DEC officials] are waiting for someone to die."
That's why some residents defy the state regulations by cutting wider swaths around their homes.
The bottom line is that the state is willing to risk lives and property in order to protect a non-native, invasive, demonstrably dangerous weed. In fact, protecting homes and homeowners from phragmites-fueled brush fires in DEC-controlled wetlands should be the DEC's responsibility, not the responsibility of homeowners themselves.
Mowing much wider firebreaks is one possibility, but affords only temporary relief. Replacing phragmites with less incendiary species would be the way to go.
Would it be expensive? Undoubtedly, but then, bringing in 250 firefighters and their equipment to fight these huge wetlands fires for the better part of a day is also expensive. Factor in the potential threat to public safety and private property, and permanent remediation becomes a no-brainer.
A number of Staten Island elected officials have requested a meeting with officials from the DEC and the Army Corps of Engineers. The issue of getting adequate firebreaks around DEC wetlands will undoubtedly be raised, as it should be, and forcefully.