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National Fire Plan Success Story

Everglades NP Hosts Media Workshop with Prescribed Burn
Everglades National Park, Florida
National Fire Plan - Accountability and Fuels Reduction
2010

Firing boss Garrett Blasingame explains ignition devices to Associated Press reporters.
Firing boss Garrett Blasingame (facing camera) explains ignition devices to Associated Press reporters.

Burn boss trainee Robert Trincado conducts the pre-burn briefing and safety briefing.
Burn boss trainee Robert Trincado (left) conducts the pre-burn briefing and safety briefing for firefighters and participating members of the media.

Everglades Fire Management Officer Rick Anderson explains the purpose of a test fire.
Everglades Fire Management Officer Rick Anderson explains the purpose of a test fire during a prescribed burn and discusses criteria for declaring one successful.

Everglades National Park hosted its first ever Fire Media Workshop in conjunction with the Shark Valley Loop Prescribed Burn on December 16, 2009.

With the wildfire season rapidly approaching in south Florida, Everglades fire management conducted a 1,400 acre prescribed burn at the Shark Valley visitor use area. The primary objective of the burn was to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire in one of the most visited parts of the park. With nearly six million people adjacent to one of the most flammable landscapes in the National Park Service, public awareness of fire risk is essential. As a secondary objective, Everglades National Park offered local media the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the role of fire in the Everglades. Participants in the Fire Media Workshop were provided training on how to safely access and cover a prescribed fire or wildfire and were introduced to the Incident Command System (ICS) that firefighters use to manage wildfire events.

After a safety briefing, being issued personal protective equipment (PPE) and deploying practice fire shelters, media representatives were escorted on the fireline to observe demonstrations of fire equipment, tools, and operations. A tram tour around the burn offered participants an up-close view of the fire and opportunities to acquire footage and personal interviews with fire personnel. Media representatives attending the workshop were diverse, including both print and television networks such as the Miami Herald, Sun Sentinel, ABC, NBC, and the Associated Press.

Everglades fire management hopes to serve as a model for other NPS fire management programs to emulate.

Contact: Rick Anderson, Fire Management Officer, (305) 242-7853.