Training Tomorrow's Fire Leaders in South Florida's Parks

Ignition and holding crews work together during a prescribed fire in South Florida. Michael Gue, South Florida Prescribed Fire Manager, NPS.

The smoke column from the first big wildfire of the season could be seen 40 miles away across South Florida's sky. Crews reached the fire quickly and began protecting threatened buildings in its path — ready because they had spent the winter conducting prescribed fires.

That readiness is built through planning, training and practice, and it is critical to fire management nationwide. Climate change is altering how fuels must be managed, just as social pressures make it hard to recruit and keep the firefighters land managers need.

Coalitions for training

South Florida Fire and Aviation (SFFA) is building partnerships with agencies across the country to share and build the skills needed for growing fire workloads. The strategy: use prescribed fire under moderate conditions to treat the ecosystem across whole landscapes, while training the next generation of wildland firefighters.

With help from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, SFFA set up and funded interagency agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service, the Alaska Fire Service and state partners to recruit and train firefighters in winter, while the West is still under snow.

A burn boss trainee and an Arizona state firefighter give the morning briefing before ignition. Michael Gue, NPS.

FY23 by the numbers

• More than 100 firefighters from land management agencies nationwide came to South Florida.
• They carried out prescribed fire on more than 231,000 acres of fire-adapted land in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park, helping protect infrastructure and lower wildfire risk for nearby communities.
• More than 20 task books — the records that certify firefighter qualifications — were signed off, for roles including Burn Boss, Task Force Leader, Division Supervisor, Fire Effects Monitor, Helicopter Manager, Helicopter Crewmember, Plastic Sphere Dispenser operator, Engine Boss and Firefighter Type 1.

A firing boss trainee during aerial ignition on a prescribed fire in Everglades National Park. Michael Gue, NPS.

The result was healthier, more resilient ecosystems in the parks and better-prepared firefighting staff across agencies for the western fire season.

Forest Service firefighters help with backhaul missions on a prescribed fire in Big Cypress National Preserve. Michael Gue, NPS.

"South Florida is the ultimate training ground for the upcoming wildfire season," said John Worsley, an engine captain at Everglades National Park. "When it's time to assist with fire response in the Western United States, South Florida fire crews have been actively managing both prescribed fires and wildfires all winter... it's just another day doing what we do best."

The project was funded by the Wildland Fire provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed November 15, 2021.

Sources

• National Park Service: "Fire on the Horizon: How South Florida is training future fire leaders to meet the Nation's upcoming wildfire challenges."
• The source gives the area treated as more than 231,000 acres in one place and as "a quarter million acres" in another; this page uses the more precise figure.