Wildland Fire Exercise/Prescribed Burn Planned for Oak Mountain State Park

A training exercise based on a current Wildland Fire Plan is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2008 at Oak Mountain State Park. The exercise is a cooperative endeavor between the Alabama State Parks Division, the Alabama Forestry Commission, the Cities of Pelham, North Shelby and Chelsea Fire Departments, Shelby County EMA and adjacent landowners/neighborhoods. The exercise will also include participation from the Wildland Fire Academy Class--fire professionals attending a course taught by fire officials through the City of Pelham Fire Department and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service in Alabama.


The dual purpose of the exercise is to create a realistic scenario based on a prescribed fire (weather permitting) within a 60- to 120-acre mountain longleaf zone. The exercise will enable participants to: better provide for the safety of those called to suppress a wildland fire; enable those groups to move, isolate and coordinate suppression efforts through command and control in a cohesive manner within the park including ingress/egress to and from private property; and to coordinate prescribed burns better in the future.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries.

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