ROLLA—The adage of “if you don’t like the weather in Missouri, wait ten minutes” really captures the past week. Across Mark Twain National Forest, what should have been a long window for prescribed burning was cut short by wind events as first a warm front and then a cold front moved through the area.
Forest Service employees spent the winter months of November through January doing “prep work” across areas that were being planned for Spring prescribed burning. That means they were going in and removing ladder fuels that could carry a burn into a canopy, opening some of the brushy areas for easy ingress/egress, and ensuring all boundaries were cleared and defensible. Before the weather shifted, this preparation allowed Mark Twain National Forest to conduct several thousand acres of successful prescribed burns across many counties. When winds became high and we moved into red flag conditions, though, prescribed burning was halted, and the Forest and its partners were challenged to respond to many wind-driven fire events that started popping up across the state.
Members of Mark Twain National Forest Veteran Crew working on a cooperative prescribed burn on Fort Leonard Wood last week. Photo taken by Emily Ficker, Forest Service.
“RH, relative humidity, is a key factor in determining how wildfires are expected to spread, and when you have low RH, high winds, and temperatures hitting the 90 degree mark on a February day, well that’s a recipe for wildfires,” stated Jim Cornelius, Fire Management Officer for Mark Twain National Forest.
As fast as fires were reported, though, resources from the National Forest, Missouri Department of Conservation, local and volunteer fire departments, and other resources were there to respond. Fire management officials from across response zones meet regularly to discuss the upcoming week’s weather and what they might expect. Once again, being prepared led the teams on the ground to success after success as they faced wildfire after wildfire over the past week.
“There were fire starts from many sources, some were private landowners trying to burn and weren’t ready for the wind, others were from power lines getting blown down, and some were expected arsons,” stated Cornelius.
In each case the dispatch team at Mark Twain National Forest worked to identify which agencies responsibility area the fire was located within, and appropriately requested resources, asked for assistance, and offered assistance where needed.
“It can be hectic when multiple fires are happening in and around the Forest, especially when that is occurring for multiple days in a row, but our team—those on the ground, the ones in the office, and our many partners—rise to the occasion,” Cornelius added.
Wildland firefighters train throughout the year to ensure they have appropriate tools to fight wildfire, follow the appropriate communication and response protocols, and to understand how fire behaves on the landscape. That type of training mentality pays off when a challenging weather event moves through the state.
Since Feb. 22, Forest personnel responded and provided assistance to more than 400 acres of wildfires that were outside of their normal response area, what is known as “assists”. Forest Service employees worked alongside firefighters from Texas County, Phelps County, Douglas County, and Reynolds County to catch wildfires in a race against incoming winds. Sometimes these fires required aerial support. One example of this was the Reuter Fire.
On Feb. 24, roving Forest patrols came across a smoke that was visible from Highway 125 in the Glade Top area of the Forest’s Ava Unit. This would develop into what would be designated as the Reuter Fire. By the time this fire was called in and responders started to arrive, wind had already pushed it across Highway 125.
The Forest Service helicopter was dispatched and was able to arrive quickly, outfitted with a bucket for water drops. The water, taken from a nearby pond, was enough to slow the forward progression of the fire. The all-veteran crew from Cassville was also able to respond and took advantage of the helicopter support and began removing fuel from around buildings in the area (what is known as structure protection). Forest Service dozers also arrived on scene and quickly went to work moving dirt in a way that “built line” around the fire to stop its progression. These resources worked together with local volunteer firefighters, and out-of-state Forest Service firefighters to catch this fire and put it out before it could do more damage.
This is just one example of how existing partnerships served to catch a quickly developing wildfire, a story that was repeated many times over the past week.