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A worker with the Oklahoma City Metro Alliance's Firstep program fills a wheelbarrow with metal debris found littered throughout a 40-acre area outside of Tinker's southeast fenceline in an area deemed as a clear zone. The area was previously masticated of all invasive cedar trees, which are highly flammable and posed a threat to the installation if a wildfire were to occur. (U.S. Air Force photo/Kelly White)

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A worker with the Oklahoma City Metro Alliance's Firstep Program removes a load of large metal debris from a 40-acre area southeast of Tinker that was recently cleared of cedar trees. The trees are considered an invasive species and are also highly flammable, putting the area, which is designated as a clear zone around the flightline, in danger. (U.S. Air Force photo/Kelly White)

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Piles of metal debris accumulated in a cedar-filled area on Tinker's southeast perimeter from the May 8, 2003 tornado. The 72nd Civil Engineering Directorate Natural Resources department hired a contractor to masticate the 40-acre area and another contractor to manually pick up the heavy debris that was found throughout the area and even in the trees. The clear-zoned area will eventually be seeded with natural prairie grasses. (U.S. Air Force photo/Kelly White)

Community partnership curbs cedar invasion

Published April 22, 2020
By Christian Tabak
72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --

Thanks to a partnership with the City of Oklahoma City, Tinker Air Force Base’s Natural Resources Office is close to completing a three-year process of clearing a 20-acre area of cedar trees that have posed hazards to the installation.

This cedar invasion has presented three problems, according to Natural Resources Manager John Krupovage, 72nd Civil Engineering Directorate. The first is that the cedars cause ecological damage by creating a monoculture that degrades the otherwise diverse prairieland.

“Part of our responsibility in Natural Resources is to manage invasive species and even though cedars are a native tree, they can be very invasive and they can completely, wall-to-wall, take over an area,” Krupovage said.

Krupovage said the second problem cedars pose is they can become highly flammable. Due to natural oils within cedars, they can be quick to catch fire and they can release airborne embers which can travel considerable distances — two qualities that can transform a controllable grass fire into multi-location blazing forest fires.

“When you have cedars packed that densely in or near populated areas, and it’s a drought year, wildfires can be really catastrophic,” Krupovage said. “Those are the kind of fires where, especially with high winds, the embers may travel a quarter- or a half-mile and catch other things on fire. And, there was increased risk because the cedars were right next to the base.”

Finally, Krupovage said the cedars were violating a designated clear zone near Runway 3-1 that could pose potential hazards. While the area is owned by Oklahoma City, he said it is still an area the installation needs to maintain due to runway access.

While cedar clearing is a routine for Natural Resources, the clearing of this particular area was more complicated by a large amount of debris that had been left in the area from the May 8, 2003, tornado.

After the contractor had cleared the area of trees, the amount of debris was so significant that would have prevented future brush hogging necessary to maintain the area. Natural Resources then approached the Oklahoma City government to see if they had a means to clear the area and were put into a partnership with the Oklahoma City Metro Alliance’s Firstep Program.

A substance abuse recovery program aimed at integrating men and women back into the workforce, Firstep provided a crew that to date has completed 50% of the cleanup, removing over 60 cubic yards of debris.

“Being that it is mission-related, our contractor was able to work with the City of Oklahoma City to get a permit which allowed access to the land and get it taken care of,” Krupovage said. “We still have a little bit of work to do out there, but once that’s done we’ll be able to maintain it through brush hogging or through prescribed burning.”