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Fire
Management
The fire
management program is designed to manage fire as an ecological
process, to reduce fire damage to forest resources, and to
minimize the impact of smoke on facilities. Smoke management
to minimize health and accident risks to onsite and offsite
personnel is one of the greatest concerns in the fire program.
USFS-SR has joint protection agreements with South Carolina
and other agencies to efficiently utilize local resources.
Prescribed burning is essential to the restoration of the
native longleaf fire savannah communities and to several wetland
restoration efforts. Approximately 15,000 to 18,000
acres are burned annually. The fire staff is active
in research support for a wide range of projects on SRS.
They work with Forest Service national smoke researchers and
State and Federal regulators to develop and test new smoke
dispersion models. The fire staff also provides support
for marking timber, planting trees, controlling soil erosion,
and installing RCW inserts. Firefighters and Smokey
Bear make numerous visits to schools in the area to talk about
fire prevention. 
The following
are services that the fire management program provides to
partners and SRS cooperators:
- Prescribed
burning to restore fire as an ecological process at SRS.
- Reduction
of catastrophic wildland fires. This is accomplished
largely by annual prescribed burning of forests to reduce
fuels, burning railroad rights-of-way, prevention education,
and aerial detection.
- Air
quality protection for facilities where smoke from wildland
forest fires can disrupt nuclear and other site operations,
which can significantly impair the ability of personnel
to perform their work. Smoke management is accomplished
by quick response to wildfire and by following air quality
management guidelines for South Carolina.
- Remote
worker tracking, emergency response, and communications
for all contractors, research workers, and education classes
operated through USFS-SR. This system of coordination
and communication is necessary in the event of an emergency.
- Personnel
support for research and other operational programs.
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