TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- For the first time since 2010, prescribed burning of 25 areas, totaling 100 acres, on Tinker Air Force Base is planned between late January and April. It is a collaborative effort between the Tinker AFB Natural Resources Conservation Office, Fire Department and the Air Force Wildland Fire Center.
Natural Resources Program Manager John Krupovage said prescribed burns serve to lessen the risk of catastrophic wildfires by reducing fuel loads, such as dead vegetation and cedar trees.
Burns also save money and time over other vegetation maintenance methods, control growth of invasive plants, maintain wildlife habitats and improve aesthetics by “reinvigorat(ing) fire-adapted plants.”
“There’s native grasses we have out here that can be burned, and they survive. The burn rejuvenates them so they’re healthier afterward. It puts nutrients back in the ground; it’s almost like fertilizing those plants,” Krupovage said.
In December, the Civil Engineering natural resources team began developing a calculated plan for the burn.
A team from the AFWFC is scheduled to begin preparing fire breaks around target areas next week. These buffer zones of low-cut grass act as perimeters for containing fire.
When that is complete, it will be a matter of waiting for weather conditions to line up, Krupovage said.
Depending on the area being burned, requirements of wind speed and direction, humidity and other parameters are strategically set to control fire intensity, manage smoke, maintain air quality and prevent interference with other base missions.
Krupovage said the team will use OK-Fire, a web-based system that forecasts favorable burn times hourly 3.5 days out, based on the required weather parameters.
Before beginning a burn, they will verify the OK-Fire data with the National Weather Service and notify building occupants in the burn area.
Prairie burning is planned for areas such as the golf course, urban greenway, Glenwood Annex and base housing.
Before areas near housing are burned, scheduled for March, tenants will be notified by Tinker Family Homes.
Once started, the burning of each site can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the burn method used.
The base fire department will be on standby to ensure safe conditions are maintained, and the Midwest City and Oklahoma City fire departments will provide off-base support when close to the perimeter of the installation are burned.
The first prescribed burn on Tinker AFB occurred in 2000, followed by another in 2003 and the latest in 2010. Statewide burn bans and changes in burn regulations have delayed further burning until now.
Krupovage said the plan going forward is to perform prescribed burns yearly as long as weather permits, cycling target areas every three years.