Fort Walker gets fired up with prescribed burns

Fort Walker, Va. – With over 49,000 acres of wooded training areas, Fort Walker has a great responsibility to maintain and protect those properties. One of the Directorate of Public Works Environmental and Natural Resources Division’s most important missions is to minimize the risk of uncontrolled wildland fires by conducting prescribed burns.

On March 1, the ENRD and Fort Walker Fire Department staff partnered to execute a prescribed burn in Training Area 5A. The firefighters on scene explained their process of lighting small fires at the natural firebreaks (the roads) on the perimeter of the training area, so the fire burns inward instead of outward, toward an area they do not intend to burn. Fort Walker leadership were on hand to observe the activity.

Natural Resources staff members plan and execute prescribed burns to meet various safety and environmental management objectives. The objective of this most recent prescribed burn was to reduce overgrown vegetation and woody debris that could serve as fuel for an unintended wildland fire. Left unchecked, excessive fuel can fuel a fire to easily overtake firebreaks and grow into a much larger, more-dangerous event.

Beth Cantrell, installation forester, served as the “burn-boss” during operations. The burn boss manages the event and makes decisions, based on weather conditions and other environmental factors, in order to ensure maximum safety.

“Proactive burns such as these are integral in abating the risk of uncontrollable wildland fires,” Cantrell said. “The work of our team ensures Fort Walker can continue to accomplish the mission of providing “The Best Training and Support– Anywhere!”