California’s Camp Pendleton hosted the annual Wildland Fire School last week, during which firefighters safely cleared out overgrown grasslands using prescribed fire.
The technique eliminates fuels from training areas and prevents future large-scale wildland fires. It also allowed firefighters to gain experience fighting wildland fires by teaching them fire behavior and suppression methods, communication skills, and collaborating with other agencies.
This year has been a heavy rainy season, and there is excessive vegetation growth throughout the region, Chief John Crook, deputy chief, Camp Pendleton Fire Department, said. This means fire agencies anticipate the upcoming fire season will start sooner than usual, he said.
“There’s an excess of 20 different fire departments from across California from as far north as Ventura County all the way south to the border,” Crook said. “Every year the school gets better and better, with more and more agencies asking to take part in it because of what Camp Pendleton can provide.”
The fire agencies that participated included Camp Pendleton Fire Department, California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and Orange County Fire Authority.
The base is urging its residents to form a plan and practice it to ensure readiness should there be a natural disaster.