Record-breaking wildfires have plagued the Southern Plains for the past three years. During this time period, unusually wet summers combined with unseasonably mild winters have resulted in increased vegetative growth, creating the conditions for devastating wildfires. In an effort to help farmers, ranchers and rural communities deal with these conditions, The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, Redlands Community College, Oklahoma State University, the USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub, the Noble Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Prescribed Fire Council, The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service have joined forces to host a wildfire fuel suppression training school on Jan. 5, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cheyenne and Arapaho Community Center in Concho, Oklahoma.
This event, according to John Weir, associate extension prescribed fire specialist at Oklahoma State University, is designed to help landowners, local fire departments and community leaders consider prescribed fire as a tool to help reduce wildfire danger.
“For three years in a row we have seen an increase in the severity of our fire season,” Weir said. “We need to be thinking about strategies now to help reduce this fuel load and protect our farmsteads and rural communities from the danger of wildfire. There are many ways to do this, but one of the most effective strategies is to use prescribed fire on the land.”
According to Weir, by implementing prescribed fire as a tool to control fuel load, individuals and communities can reduce the danger of out-of-control wildfires later on. By doing targeted “black line” burns around communities and structures when conditions permit, burn associations and fire departments can work together to provide additional protection to homes and businesses. As part of the training school, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes will be burning “black lines” around the town of Concho itself in partnership with local prescribed burn associations.
According to Nathan Hart, executive director of the Department of Business for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, this effort will both protect the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal headquarters at Concho and provide an excellent demonstration of the protection prescribed fire can help provide.
“Burning a fire break around a town is a great strategy to help protect those communities from wildfire later on,” Hart said. “Our hope is that by conducting this training school at Concho, we will spur additional partnerships between burn associations and local volunteer fire departments in using prescribed fire as a tool to fight wildfire.”
