JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – By now, you’ve probably seen plumes of smoke drifting over the prairie landscape. You may be wondering, “How in the world can Joint Base Lewis-McChord conduct prescribed burns during the dry weather?”
JBLM is an island of green in an increasing urban area, but the South Sound prairie training area is both rare and fire-dependent. There are many endangered species that rely on regular firing of the gravelly soils.
Although the primary objective of most prescribed burns is to enhance the habitat for endangered and rare species - required by the Endangered Species Act - prescribed burns also provide better training areas for service members and reduce fuel loadings.
The areas that have already been burned can be used for training activities that have a higher risk of creating unwanted fires, without risking a wildfire.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the governor’s wildfire state of emergency declaration and burn ban, issued in July, target the reduction of the risks of wildfire.
“Currently, the best tool to prevent and reduce the risk of wildfires is our robust prescribed fire program,” said John Richardson, JBLM Fish and Wildlife biologist. “On a landscape level, prescribed burns reduce fuel loadings which can reduce the severity and intensity of wildfires. On a site-specific level, prescribed burns create areas of black on the landscape that allow for more mission flexibility during the summer fire season.”
Although JBLM does not burn during air quality burn bans, because the installation has its own means of fire suppression, JBLM can conduct prescribed burns during fire danger burn bans.
To ensure minimal impact to the surrounding communities, every morning before a burn, the team monitors real-time air quality and weather forecasts. Team members also control the burn, so the smoke goes up and then dissipates, rather than spreading out low.
All prescribed burns are posted on the Sustainable JBLM Facebook page. If you experience ground level nuisance smoke from controlled burns, please call 253-912-2049.
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