Air Force Wildland Fire Center assists with Moody AFB prescribed burn

  • Published
  • By Chad Starr
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  The Air Force Wildland Fire Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., achieved a new first recently when a team from the center was used to help with controlled burns at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. What made this achievement even more notable was that the team included five members from the U.S. Forest Service.

"This was the first time that a crew was used--in a closely coordinated way--at multiple installations, and the first time a U.S. Forest Service member has helped with a controlled burn at Moody," said James Furman, chief of the Air Force Wildland Fire Center. "The team also conducted burns on Eglin AFB and Avon Park Air Force Range, and did a site visit and provided assistance at Arnold Air Force Base. Their prescribed burning reduced wildfire risk and improved ecological condition at all three installations where they burned."

Most of the upland forests at Moody AFB were historically dominated by longleaf pine ecosystems adapted to periodic fires ignited by lightning and Native Americans. The purpose of the prescribed burns is to reduce forest fuel loads and the associated wildfire hazard, improve accessibility for military training and maintain or enhance the wildlife habitat for rare species such as the gopher tortoise and eastern indigo snake according to John Crain, the base forester at Moody. The prescribed burning program is normally conducted by the base forester and trained volunteers, primarily on weekends and holidays to avoid conflicts with the airfield and Grand Bay Weapons Range activities.
"A five-member U.S. Forest Service team from the Huron-Manistee Fire Module from the Huron-Manistee National Forest deployed to Moody AFB from the Wildland Fire Center March 8," said Crain. "They arrived Friday afternoon and assisted with fixing water pumps and making other equipment preparations, then on Saturday and Sunday they helped with the prescribed burn of over 160 acres of upland natural pine forests on the Grand Bay Weapons Range."

Because of the success of the Moody operation and the Wildland Fire Center's willingness to help, Crain said he plans to request more support missions next year.

"The team sent to Moody performed extremely well," Crain said. "They were highly qualified, professional, cooperative and very enthusiastic."

According to Crain the team went above and beyond what he expected, and took a big load off his shoulders.

"Moody has a very limited staff, so we really benefited from the team's support. It enabled us to conduct prescribed burns on additional acreage and accomplish some necessary wildland fire training," said Crain.

Officially established July 1, 2012, the Wildland Fire Center is part of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center. Due primarily to the hiring freeze, the center has not reached full operating capacity yet, but has accomplished a lot in a short period of time according to Furman. Assisting other installations is just one of those accomplishments.

"Assisting individual installations in meeting their goals and objectives through a 'boots on the ground' approach is a key tool in helping the center meet its objective of mitigating wildland fire risk across the Air Force," said Furman. "The interactions between our personnel and those at the different installations builds trust and gives us a better understanding of other ways we can provide assistance."

In addition to doing controlled burns and fighting wildfires at Eglin and other locations, the center provides an opportunity for firefighters from other Defense Department agencies, U.S. Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Services the opportunity to get concentrated training in wildfire response and prescribed burns. With 464,000 acres of land, 150 prescribed burns each year and over 100 wildfires annually, Eglin's operations tempo provides plenty of opportunities for firefighters to hone their skills.

"It's a win-win situation," said Furman. "The outside firefighters get to practice, and there are very few places where firefighters can get more hands-on practice than Eglin. In return, we not only get help from some highly qualified firefighters on burns, but many are qualified to sign off on National Wildfire Coordinating Group training task books for individuals at installations where they may not have anyone qualified to sign off on the task books.