Behind the Scenes--

Wildfires: How the Service prepares for them on National Wildlife Refuges

On June 1, a lightning strike thsat occurred on private land adjacent to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Columbia, North Carolina, sparked a wildfire that, as of June 25, had burned more than 41,060 acres. Firefighters, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the North Carolina Forest Service, and several other local, state and federal agencies are working to contain the fire which, as of June 25, was 75 percent contained.

“This wildfire was almost predictable,” said Robert Eaton, the Service’s Southeast Regional deputy chief of the Divison of Fire Management. “Due to the extreme drought, high temperatures, and low humidity in eastern North Carolina, we have already been preparing for a wildfire of this magnitude.”

How do national wildlife refuges prepare for wildfires?

Preparation for wildfires starts long before the fire even occurs. Prescribed burns often are one of the most effective techniques.

“Prescribed burning on national wildlife refuges is used to control the amount of dense vegetation or “fuel” and lessen the possibility of a damaging wildfire,” says Kelley Van Druten, wildlife urban interface specialist for the nine eastern national wildlife refuges in North Carolina. “The practice of prescribed burning is also used to improve wildlife habitat.”

One of the ways the Service prepares for potential wildfires like the one on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is to establish a series of fuel breaks along refuge boundaries near communities and in the interior of the refuge. Pocosin Lakes also installed three water control structures and acquired grant money to provide 16 local volunteer fire departments with wildland fire gear and training opportunities.

Refuge managers also prepare to fight wildfires by regularly maintaining their equipment, such as tractors, plows, engines, helicopters, and fire gear. Refuge firefighters throughout the Southeast also attend an Annual Fire Management Officer Workshop to get up-to-date information about fire safety, current fire policy, planning procedures, and training opportunities. In addition, all Service wildland firefighters must be red-carded and achieve an arduous rating on the “Pack Test.”

Wildfires are wide-ranging and unpredictable and threatened communities, as well as refuges. What can you do to protect your home?

Van Druten offers several suggestions:

• Design and landscape your home with wildfire safety in mind by selecting materials and plants that can help contain fire, rather than fuel it. Use non-combustible material on the roof and planting fire-resistant shrubs and trees.
• Create a 30-100 foot safety zone around your home by keeping up with routine maintenance and regularly cleaning roofs and gutters, removing brush and dead limbs and mowing grass.
• Plan your water needs for a disaster situation by ensuring hydrants, swimming pools or small water structures are around your house.

For more information on how to protect your home from wildfire damage go to www.firewise.org

For more information on the Pocosin Lake National Wildlife Refuge wildfire please see the North Carolina Incident Management Team website at http://inciweb.org/state/34

Submitted by Sharon Fuller, Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Farmerville, Louisiana