Tues April 4 2023 - Nasty Brush Fire at Soldiers Delight - Owings Mills

[Squaregrouper]

Is this different than 'Afternoon Delight'?

Only the skyrockets in flight.

 

[Bboarder]

We live off ivymill 10 minutes by car and it was a smoke cloud into the night and the moon looked hazy.

Thankfully the contained it so quickly!

 

[John from MD]

Is this different than 'Afternoon Delight'?

Well, you can have an "afternoon delight" at Soldiers Delight.

 

[Bikebreath]

Apparently this is the third fire in the last few days.

Are we talking firebug in the area? Might want to keep those cats you talked about in traveling cases.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

There sure is/was a large plume of smoke, I saw it from Hunt Valley all the way through Greenspring Valley.

I figured it would be quite a mess that had a huge viewing area in real time.

 

[Raineman]

It came within a 100 feet of my buddy's back fence. He has a farm on Wards Chapel and he spent all evening/night moving trailers, campers, farm animals, family, etc.. Luckily he is moving everything back today.

My son-in-law (ANG/Blackhawk crew chief) was not called, but he knows all the guys flying.

 

[Moonlighter]

It came within a 100 feet of my buddy's back fence. He has a farm on Wards Chapel and he spent all evening/night moving trailers, campers, farm animals, family, etc.. Luckily he is moving everything back today.

My son-in-law (ANG/Blackhawk crew chief) was not called, but he knows all the guys flying.

Wow, he definitely dodged a bullet. Glad he's alright.

 

[Raineman]

Wow, he definitely dodged a bullet. Glad he's alright.

He did. I just watched some aerial footage from WJZ. You can see his big garage and his house from one shot if you search the "fire area".

 

[Slowhand]

Glad they got it knocked down. From memory (pinky swear), Soldiers Delight is a serpentine barren with rare and delicate soil (yes, really) that has unusual chemical composition (magnesium, making it blueish greenish), rare plant species, and is semi-sparse (hence barren) vegitatively. I used to work nearby and take my girlfriend to watch the occasional submarine races there.

 

[Threeband]

It used to be a leading supplier of the world's chromite.

 

[fogman]

Chromium and asbestos were both mined at Soldier's Delight. I've been told.they don't allow mountain biking or horseback riding because it stirs up the soil.
Fire is a natural benefit for the barren. It removes the non native plants. The native blackjack and post oak aren't affected by fire as much as the invasive pine. There is also a symbiotic relationship between the ants and oak trees and some native wildflowers.

 

[Bikebreath]

Chromium and asbestos were both mined at Soldier's Delight. I've been told.they don't allow mountain biking or horseback riding because it stirs up the soil.
Fire is a natural benefit for the barren. It removes the non native plants. The native blackjack and post oak aren't affected by fire as much as the invasive pine. There is also a symbiotic relationship between the ants and oak trees and some native wildflowers.

Early on, late 80's, we mountain biked there before the ordinance/law/whatever came to be. It wasn't so much our destination, as we came in from Liberty Reservoir. I've come to have high regard for the unique landscape...similar landscape over in Robert E. Lee park, now called something less triggering.

 

[Troublesbrewin]

I drove through some of the affected area yesterday evening, looks to have been primarily a grass fire. Some trees mostly pine were scorched up to 6’-7’ of their trunk, many were otherwise unaffected. Only a few were “burnt up” completely - where I saw them. Basically I drove from Liberty to Wards Chapel, north up to Deer Park Road. A lot of the grass fire was under power line and did very little damage. Still a strong odor of fire and there were a lot of very lucky home owners along the route I took. Much of the scorched earth will be back to normal by the end of June with only blacked tree trunks to tell of the near disaster.

 

[Threeband]

I remember them doing controlled burns in Soldier's Delight some years ago.

Sounds like they were overdue for another, and the situation sorted itself out.


The Indians used to regularly burn over many forested areas to maintain their hunting grounds. In particular, they would burn over Serpentine Barrens, I suppose because the poor soil made them easier to maintain as open meadows.


"... Historically, the barrens of Pennsylvania and Maryland were maintained as grasslands for hunting grounds by the Susquehannock and other unknown Native American Tribes. Fires deliberately set by Native Americans were responsible for maintaining the grassland/savannah communities found in the serpentine barrens of the piedmont plateau. Post european invasion and settlement, these areas were used for grazing due to their "barrenness". Barrens that were not grazed by livestock transitioned into a forest habitat. By 1930 almost all grazing in this area had ceased and conifer invasion and expansion began. Presently, afforestation has occurred in more than 90% of undeveloped serpentine barrens due to fire suppression."

Serpentine Barrens - Soil Ecology Wiki

soil.geology.buffalo.edu

 

[Mark75H]

I remember them doing controlled burns in Soldier's Delight some years ago.

Sounds like they were overdue for another, and the situation sorted itself out.


The Indians used to regularly burn over many forested areas to maintain their hunting grounds. In particular, they would burn over Serpentine Barrens, I suppose because the poor soil made them easier to maintain as open meadows.


"... Historically, the barrens of Pennsylvania and Maryland were maintained as grasslands for hunting grounds by the Susquehannock and other unknown Native American Tribes. Fires deliberately set by Native Americans were responsible for maintaining the grassland/savannah communities found in the serpentine barrens of the piedmont plateau. Post european invasion and settlement, these areas were used for grazing due to their "barrenness". Barrens that were not grazed by livestock transitioned into a forest habitat. By 1930 almost all grazing in this area had ceased and conifer invasion and expansion began. Presently, afforestation has occurred in more than 90% of undeveloped serpentine barrens due to fire suppression."

Serpentine Barrens - Soil Ecology Wiki

soil.geology.buffalo.edu

Good research

 

[Burt]

This is what happens with .gov “manages” forests. They don’t log. They don’t get rid of the undesirables. They let the deer get out of control that eat the good trees/plants

And they block all the public’s access to what the public owns.

 

[fogman]

The Karen's on Facebook and Next Door are hilarious. They plan on coming out to Soldier's Delight to replant the trees and plants on the Serpentine Barren/Oak Savannah. They do realize the fire though dangerous, did what fire on the barren is suppose to do, burn off the non-native pine, greenbrier, barberry, mile-a-minute vine, decorative landscape grasses and numerous other invasive species? The hordes of do-gooders will probably trample the native plants underfoot as they stomp through to save the Savannah. If they just leave it alone and watch nature at work, the area will recover all on it's own, with the native plants getting a chance to get ahead. I'm looking forward to watching Nature go thru it's natural cycle.

 

[lazarus]

This is what happens with .gov “manages” forests. They don’t log. They don’t get rid of the undesirables. They let the deer get out of control that eat the good trees/plants

And they block all the public’s access to what the public owns.

You are right. Soldier's Delight is not open for public use...

Oh wait.