MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Wildfire season has kept first responders in the Poconos busy this fall.
Coolbaugh Township Fire Chief George Dobson says with the ground so dry from a lack of rain, that trend could continue for weeks.
"The county as well as the state has been inundated with wildland brush fires the extremely dry conditions, the wind, the leaf cover on the ground results in a very fast spreading fire," said Chief Dobson.
Mother Nature sent a small bit of rain our way. The Stormtracker 16 Team says the Mount Pocono area received about .33" of rain Sunday night into Monday morning.
Townships like Coolbaugh have burn bans in place to prevent fires. Chief Dobson says just because it rained, doesn't mean it is safe to burn.
"The little bit of rain that we had is just a drop in the bucket compared to what we need. The ground is very quickly absorbing that rain. The wind is going to dry out the top layer of foliage that is on the ground, all of the grass and weeds, so we are right back to the conditions before we got that rain," explained Dobson.
Chief Dobson says Coolbaugh Township will keep its burn ban until further notice. He explains the region needs more soaking rains before that will be lifted.
"No open campfires, no burn barrels, even if you have some sort of lid or cover, it is not sufficient enough. Radiant heat or a loose ember could spark a wildfire pretty quickly," said Dobson.
Monroe County is still experiencing moderate drought conditions.