Mastering the Art of Fire: Managers at Jefferson County Greenways Complete Prescribed Burn Training
Greenways team gains vital certifications for safe and effective fire management in conservations efforts
For the park managers of the Jefferson County Greenways (JCG), 2025 started off not so much with a bang but with a slow, large flaming hillside.
Paul, Mark, and Brandon, park managers for the three greenspaces of JCG, all spent a busy and exhausting week at the beautiful Wehle Land Conservation Center in Midway, AL learning about how to safely and effectively use fire as a conservation tool. Thanks to the generosity of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), they participated in the hands-on portion of FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration’s Wildland Firefighter Training. This crucial and exciting class and certification is required before our personnel can utilize prescribed - or conservation - burns across our greenspaces.
How Controlled Fires Benefit Forest Health and Community Safety
Prescribed burns are the intentional and planned use of fire in a specific area, or unit, of a forest or forest stand. Burns are used to accomplish one or more of several forest management goals. The primary goals of prescribed burns are the reduction of fuels available to wildfires, ecosystem restoration and replenishment, and lowering forest density to improve the overall health of a forest. It allows us to be a better neighbor by limiting the risk of extreme wildfire. And it is a powerful weapon in protecting existing biodiversity and encouraging new, healthy growth.
Historically, fire has long been a natural staple of our dynamic landscape that has shaped our ecosystems and drive biodiversity. It is believed that in most regions of Alabama, without human suppression, fire would naturally sweep through every 3-7 years, bringing with it opportunities for new growth and renewal. These frequent fires would reduce fuel loads on forest beds, resulting in far less intense fires, and create conditions for fire tolerant or adapted plant and wildlife species to thrive. Today, within our human augmented, fragmented landscapes, fires are far less frequent allowing fuels to build up, and our forests to become crowded and dense.
As land managers, we understand the important role of frequent fires in reducing fuel loads and thus wildfire intensity. This protects our communities and creates healthier, more diverse forests. Using our understanding of the science of fire behavior, we write prescriptions for management, selecting units and conditions that ensure these goals are met in the safest possible way. This allows us to be better neighbors, by limiting the risk of extreme wildfires, and is a powerful weapon in protecting existing biodiversity and encouraging new, healthy growth.
Tools of the Trade: Mastering Fire Management Equipment
At the training, our managers bunked out with students from TNC, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Student Conservation Association (SCA), and other organizations. The week started with two days of a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on demonstrations of equipment and tools. The knowledgeable instructors from TNC walked them through the in’s and out’s of how to successfully plan a prescribed burn, how to complete a prescribed burn, and how to properly use all the necessary equipment to ensure everything is done safely and effectively.
Our managers learned about wildland fire personal protective equipment (PPE) including proper gloves, goggles, and NOMEX clothing - affectionately called “greens” and “yellows.” They learned about how to accurately measure temperature, relative humidity, and wind data in the field using a spin psychrometer to “sling” the weather. Learning how to quickly deploy an emergency personal fire shelter was a must. With practice, these individual shelters can be deployed in as little as 15 seconds to protect firefighters in emergencies.
Before going into the field to “send fire,” the TNC instructors spent time explaining the use, care, and purpose of various hand tools. Some of these tools may be in your house right now - metal rakes and shovels, for instance. But some are unique to wildland fires such as McLeods, council rakes, and the Pulaski axe. These tools are used to cut “hand lines” which are used to both direct the fire where the burn team wishes it to go and to prevent uncontrolled burns outside of the prescribed zone. Hand lines are simply paths or boundaries that have been stripped of most or all fuel to stop the fire from progressing.
Drip torches are another crucial tool for prescribed burns. The torches are simply a tank of fuel with a line out and a wick. The wick is saturated in fuel and lit creating a small flame at the end of the line. Burn team members can then simply tip the torch over to pour fuel out of the line first going past the lit wick. The result is slow drips of fire from the torch that the team member can place where desired to start a fire. Other less common fire starting tools were demonstrated such as dragon’s eggs. These small plastic balls are filled with a chemical that will burn hot and slow when injected with ethylene glycol - antifreeze. Once injected, the chemical process gives the team member 10-20 seconds to set or throw the dragon’s egg where they want to light a fire.
The instructors spent time explaining the function and use of fire “engines.” These can be a traditional fire truck, a Type 6 large capacity tank and pump permanently affixed to a full-size truck, or a smaller “slip on” Type 7 engine temporarily installed in the back of a UTV. Our managers got hands-on experience filling the engines in the field from a pond, running complex hose layouts, and, of course, using the hoses to spray water and quench fire.
All this training is necessary before even stepping foot on a fire line. Building a forest management plan always requires a great deal of planning. Probably as difficult as fighting the fire itself, setting up a burn management plan is no easy task. Charles Yeager, JCG Director of Land and Water Conservation, has been chipping away at creating a practical and effective burn plan for our three greenspaces. While there is no current timeline for this undertaking, it is a tool we hope to begin using in the near future. Diligence and thoughtfulness during this initial planning process is crucial from both a safety and ecological perspective.
Hands-On Training with Fire Management Experts
Our park managers finished out the week with two days of live fire! They participated in the prescribed burn of nearly 200 acres of pine flatwoods on the Barbour County Wildlife Management Area. During these two exciting days, our managers got a chance to put the training into action and participate in all phases of the burns. The prescribed fire burn started with a crucial team briefing where the plan is explained, any concerns are voiced, and all questions are answered. Then comes the main attraction… starting the fire! Fire is started according to the burn boss’s plan and controlled using various methods and existing fire breaks. Firelines are monitored to ensure there are no escaped flames. When the last of the fire is out, that’s a wrap.
With the experience, knowledge, and certification gained at the Wehle Land Conservation Center, our managers are ready to take part in prescribed burns safely. Brandon, Paul, and Mark cannot wait to put these new skills into practice. Along with Charles, our Land Steward, Van Coffey, and Deputy Superintendent Amy Conyers, who were already certified, the team at Jefferson County Greenways is ready to send fire at home and start using prescribed burns to help our greenspaces. They are able to volunteer with other partner conservation organizations and agencies on prescribed burns to gain crucial experience. In March, we are partnering with the Alabama Forestry Foundation to put these skills to work on a 10-acre “Learn and Burn” at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. As our team’s skill and experience grow, we hope to further utilize this incredibly valuable tool to slowly and carefully reduce fuel loads across our greenspaces and make them a better place for all who enjoy and inhabit them. Prescribed burns will be a vital tool in the continuing care of Red Mountain Park, Ruffner Mountain, and Turkey Creek Nature Preserve - those Greenways we all know and love so much.
