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National Fire Plan Success Story

Firefighters and Native Grasses Benefit from Prescribed Burn
New River Gorge National River, West Virginia
National Fire Plan - Firefighting

Picture of two firefighters sitting at a table, one holding up the taskbook of the other.
Peggy Ainslie signs Engine Boss Trainee Mark Bollinger's taskbook during Sandstone Visitor Center Prescribed Fire, March 19, 2007. NPS photo by Barb Stewart.

Fires can be teachers. Among the firefighters successfully completing the Sandstone prescribed fire were a burn boss trainee and two engine boss trainees. Afterwards, an information officer trainee learned more about sharing fire stories on the web. The three NPS employees and one redcarded member of the Beckley Fire Department worked with qualified staff to complete elements of their NWCG (National Wildfire Coordinating Group) Task Books. At New River Gorge National River and around the country experience on prescribed fires is important for the development of effective fire managers.

The primary resource objective of the 1.5 acre fire was to encourage the growth of native grasses. Conditions were right for the planned burn on March 19th. Trainers, trainees, firefighters and the Green Sulphur District Fire Department kept the flashy fire on the steep slopes where it belonged, away from the visitor center. A local newspaper and television station came out to capture the story. It appeared that night on WVNS-TV 59 News and on the front page of the next day's Beckley Register-Herald.

Contact: Barb Stewart, Fire Communication and Education Specialist, NPS Northeast and National Capital Regions
Phone: (434) 220-9065