Prescribed burns happening soon

  • Published
  • By 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Prescribed burns will be conducted on more than 50 burn plots comprising 200 acres across Tinker Air Force Base beginning in February and ending in March. 

The areas to be burned include the Glenwood area north of the main runway; north of I-40; other areas including the golf course; Urban Greenway; the base chapel; base housing; the south end of the airfield; and the Cyber Engineering Installation Group on SE 59th Street.

Prescribed burns are intentionally set fires used to manage vegetation in natural areas. Prescribed burning has happened on Tinker in 2000, 2003, 2010 and 2019, but is expected to be done annually in the future.

Burning is done to enhance prairie/woodland health, improve wildlife habitat, reduce fuel load buildup, decrease invasive species and provide other benefits. The base’s management objectives include maintaining a mosaic of prairie, savannah and woodlands in the installation’s natural spaces, such as the Urban Greenway.

The burns will be conducted by a team led by the Bureau of Land Management, contracted by the Air Force Wildland Fire Center. Tinker Civil Engineering as well as fire department and natural resources staff will also participate in the burning. All on-the-ground participants must be federally qualified through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

Burning is done under a prescribed burn plan, which targets specific wind speed and direction, humidity, temperatures and other parameters set in advance. The burning only takes place within the prescription to ensure a low risk and that objectives are met. The burn plan also requires coordination with off-base entities, such as the National Weather Service, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and local police, sheriff and fire departments.