Forests and Rangelands Success Story
A Good Day at Blackrock
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
National Fire Plan - Firefighting
2008
The burn boss trainee briefs the firefighters before ignition.
A smoke column rises out of the burn area.
Good fire effects were visible from Blackrock sixteen days after the burn.
All photos by Barb Stewart.
Goldilocks and burn bosses have something in common, they like things "just right." May 7, 2008 was not too wet and was not too dry. That day, fire managers safely completed Shenandoah National Park’s largest, most complex burn. The 282-acre project’s goal was to help oaks and table mountain pines thrive.
The woods were too wet on the first planned date of March 27. The woods and the air were too dry on April 17. Conditions were good, and finally within prescription, on May 7. Holding forces went into place and igniters began their work. Fire crept on the ground, burst out in bushes and torched entire pine trees. Flame cleared out some seedbeds and opened up sections of the canopy, which should be especially good for the Appalachian native, table mountain pine. There was a good mix of burn severity across the area.
During the burn, firefighter and public safety were paramount. A pilot car guided motorists on the park’s Skyline Drive around the unit when necessary. A few miles of the drive were closed overnight and then were reopened in the morning. Because the unit included a section of the Appalachian Trail, park staff shuttled hikers around the temporarily closed section. Firefighters also successfully protected a three-sided hiking shelter, a camping site, and a privy.
It took cooperation to complete the project. Joining forces for success were employees from Shenandoah National Park and nearby National Park Service sites in the Northeast and National Capital Regions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Grottoes Volunteer Fire Department and the Dooms Volunteer Fire Company.
Contact: Barb Stewart, Fire Communication and Education Specialist, (434) 220-9065.