It should not come as a surprise that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has declared drought watches in over 30 counties as of Nov. 13th. The lack of rain has certainly been noticeable to the community here at The University of Scranton.

According to their website, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection monitors drought conditions by recording precipitation, soil dryness, surface and underground water levels. One county in Pennsylvania that is under a drought watch is Northampton County, which borders New Jersey.

Some may have recently noticed the strong odor of smoke on campus and in the greater Scranton area. Your senses did not deceive you. That was the smell of burning wood! The Lackawanna County Fire Wire group reported on Facebook that that had received confirmation from Lackawanna County Emergency Services that the smoke detectable by residents in the county was from a wildfire, the Gap Fire on Blue Mountain.

Crews from the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company based out of Northampton County responded to Timberline Road for the reported fire at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 2 according to a CBS article, by Tom Ignudo and Nikki DeMentri.

The article also reported that to preserve the residences in the area, the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company engaged in a controlled burn to redirect the path of the fire. This is a tactic commonly used by wildland firefighters. Since in the wilderness, firefighters rarely have a steady supply of water to suppress fire, this carefully executed tactic burns potential fuel before the wildfire can reach it thus diverting the fuel-hungry flames in another direction. The Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company Facebook page posted an image of the fire crew with a caption explaining that their property preservation efforts were successful and potentially lifesaving, but the fire continued to slowly travel down the mountain.

According to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, 577 acres were charred as of Nov. 5. Dozens of firefighters worked around the clock to fight the fire. The operations conducted were joint efforts by local and state wildfire crews from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) who battled the blaze for multiple days before they reached 100% containment of the fire. The Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company reported 100% containment at 1:25 p.m. on Nov. 8.  

The carcinogens (partially combusted materials commonly known as smoke) from this fire traveled across Monroe and Carbon Counties to reach our beautiful campus and surround it with the stench of a fire. This may have reminded some of the smokey haze that was blown down from Canada in the spring of 2023. In that extreme case, apocalyptic conditions lingered for days while the odor on campus was only briefly observable.

Wildfires are often the result of dry, windy weather and occur in arid environments. A singular spark is often enough to ignite a large area of dry brush. Thus, it is important to always heed Smokey the Bear’s advice on fire safety, especially during drought-like conditions.

These fires have a plethora of environmental consequences including disruptions in local ecosystems and destruction of property. According to the Forest Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, roughly 3,500 homes have been damaged by wildfires every year for the past ten years. Luckily, structure damage was avoided at the Gap Fire due to the quick thinking of fire crews working to contain the inferno.

The cause of the Gap Fire has not been released by fire officials at this time.

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