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David Stanley Ford

Control of Eastern red cedar urged in Oklahoma

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Published: October 27, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Conservationists and fire-control experts are urging state lawmakers to focus more resources on controlling the spread of Eastern red cedar trees to better control wildfires.

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Members of the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee met Tuesday to learn more about red cedar trees, which are a major source of fuel for wildfires.

Rep. Richard Morrissette of Oklahoma City says cedar trees contributed heavily to wildfires in April in Midwest City and elsewhere that destroyed more than 100 structures. Damage was estimated at $30 million.

Oklahoma Conservation Commission director Mike Thralls says the infestation of red cedar trees involves about 10 million of Oklahoma's 44 million acres.

John Weir of the Oklahoma Prescribed Fire Council says controlled burns are the best way to control their spread.

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David Stanley Ford


Related Topics: U.S. State Government, U.S. Government, Politics, Nature and the Environment, Economic Issues, Economic Development, Rural Development, Natural Disasters, Wildfires, Conservation of Resources, Accidents and Disasters



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Our company is working with OSU to help create "green" jobs in Oklahoma by converting the harvested eastern red cedar into a solid bioenergy in pellet and log form. Why just burn it when we can use this as a viable renewable energy source... www.renewableresourcetechnologies.com
Brian - Oct 28, 2009 at 10:51 am
guillotine . . .
Desiderius, Uptown - Oct 27, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Although we call them 'cedar,' more accurately, they are Eastern Junipers, though most would agree they are a nuisance as they suck a great deal of water out of the ground.
Kevin, Oklahoma City - Oct 27, 2009 at 5:42 pm
There's a good PDF from forestry.ok.gov about ERCs as fire hazards: http://www.forestry.ok.gov/Websites/forestry/Images/ERC%20as%20Hazard%20Fuel.pdf
C, Oklahoma City - Oct 27, 2009 at 2:56 pm
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burt, that's awful. I didn't know that could happen. I remember my biology professor in college talking about how these trees were not native to Oklahoma and that they are a nuisance. Part of the class included studying a section of land near the university that had been taken over by red cedars over the past several years. The cedars had choked out all the native plants.
C, Oklahoma City - Oct 27, 2009 at 2:52 pm
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I stood at SE 15th and Westminster and watched a tree that was away from the fire but receiving considerable convection heat just explode like a propane tank. The firemen thought it was a propane tank at first because it blew up a 100-foot plume of flames. Then it was evident it was a cedar.
burt, edmond - Oct 27, 2009 at 12:32 pm
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