Photo By Cpl. Ashley Gomez | The main fire in the prescribed burn meets the back fire causing it slow down and die...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. –The faint smell of smoke in the air may cause uneasiness for commuters and residents, but when it comes to training, protecting and maintaining the environment, the reason for the smoke is extremely important. Prescribed burns, also called controlled burns, are essential for maintaining the ecological balance of the woodland encompassing the base.
Prescribed burning is a critical management tool that benefits North Carolina's forests, wildlife and environment, and also helps reduce the impact of wildfire hazards. Prescribed fire is especially important in North Carolina due to the large amount of land lying in the wildland/urban Interface, according to the North Carolina Forest Service.
“On Camp Lejeune, our main focus is to support training,” said Josh Cumbo, a forestry technician on MCB Camp Lejeune. “We do that by doing a lot of our burning around the ranges to reduce the risk of a wildfire getting out of hand and becoming unmanageable.”
Periodically conducting these burns also helps with safety. Areas around the ranges and training areas are susceptible to wildfires, but if the forest is already burnt, the wildfires won’t have any fuel on the ground to thrive off of making them less dangerous.
“A lot of folks think prescribed burns are bad for the environment, but they don’t know how they actually work,” Cumbo said. “They not only clean the forest bed up, but they release nutrients back into the soil and it helps promote (new growth).”
Prescribed burns start with a backing fire placed strategically windward of an area of trees. The trees are similar in nature and have common characteristics and are collectively referred to as a stand.
After the backing fire is set, forestry technicians will go into the forest and light the area around the perimeter so that the entire stand in which they planned to burn will be clear.
“The reason we do this is to maintain training (areas), keep people safe, maintain biodiversity and benefit plant and animal species,” said John Magnus, a forestry technician on MCB Camp Lejeune. “The more we burn, the more control we have to help keep the Marines training.”
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2019 11:03 |
| Story ID: | 309678 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 222 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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