Prescribed Burn at Sharps Point Dredge Spoil

SALISBURY, Md. — The Wicomico County Division of Public Works conducted a prescribed burn at Sharps Point on Wednesday.

The dredge spoil site reached its capacity, preventing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from dredging the Wicomico River. Acting Director of Public Works Adam Corry, explains how the prescribed burn will help move dredging operations along. “Some of the other cells are fully choked with invasive phragmites, and some other vegetation that prevents us from being able to really get a good look via drone when we’re doing our survey work to determine how much capacity we have left in each one of these cells. So, there could be anywhere from 3-6 feet of old, fallen down phragmites.”

Conducting aerial surveys of the site is next in line for the department. “It’s going to make it a lot easier for us as a DPW (Department of Public Works) to be able to utilize that material for endeavors on the landfill and other projects around there.”

Corry explains that the prescribed burn was necessary to prevents bushfires and potential disasters as they continue to work on the site. “You get rid of what really is a hazardous fuel if a non-controlled burn were to occur from a lightning strike or somebody’s campfire… Now, the other thing is we’re going to have a contractor here, with heavy equipment, fuel, and potential ignition sources. Of course, if you do have an uncontrolled fire, then you’re really not ahead of the game. This prevents that and also gives us the ability to truly manage our site appropriately.”