FORT HUACHUCA — Firefighters from a variety of agencies received an unusual safety warning when they assembled for a prescribed burn here early Wednesday — beware of unexploded ordinance.
Scott Mlller, who heads training at the gunnery range, showed the firefighters a variety of spent ammo that has been used over the years, ranging from a World War II-era bazooka to modern rifle grenades.
He urged the crews to remember the three Rs — “Recognize, Retreat and Report” — but also said the odds of finding live ordnance was slim — the range has been blackened five times in the past decade.
These days it is used strictly for small-arms training.
Tim Yurkiewicz, the burn boss from the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest, told the 80 firefighters that the goal for the day was pretty simple: “Pretty much what we’re going to do is make this place black,” he said.
The Army plans to burn 4,700 acres of grass and shrub in the foothills flanking the fort this winter as a precaution against fires on the gunnery ranges, a buffer for wildfires burning onto the base from the forests of the Coronado and a means of restoring the natural mix of vegetation.
After the briefing, crews from the Coronado, Arizona State Land Department and fire departments from Huachuca City, Safford and elsewhere loaded onto firetrucks, Humvees and ATVs for the climb into the hills above the grassy bowl where the gunnery range is located south of the fort’s offices and barracks.
They did the final trek on foot, then used drip torches to light the inner ring of a burn area defined by dirt roads and trails.
By 8:30 a.m., smoke rose from the hills and by noon the fire was blazing toward the interior of the bowl as the sun-dried grasses flamed up.
Kendal Wilson, fuels specialist for the Coronado’s Sierra Vista District, watched from a control tower on the gunnery range as the flames crept down from the hills. “Yeah, just take the grass, not the trees — excellent.”
The crews had only one day to complete the task. The fire was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but conditions were “out of prescription.” Wind was a concern and so was the dampness of the vegetation. The area received rain over the weekend.
The Sierra Vista District, where the towering Huachucas are flanked by grasslands, has a good supply of grasses to carry fire as fire season approaches, Wilson said.
“Our grass crop is extremely high,” he said, comparing it to 2005. “That was a very busy desert fire season.”
As the crews worked the roads Wednesday afternoon, a series of explosive pops reverberated. It wasn’t exploding ordinance, however, just the flare guns used to light the interior of the fire.
By 4 p.m., the crews had completed ignitions and all had gone well, Wilson said by phone. Wednesday’s fire covered about 1,874 acres.
The grass will stop burning when the sun goes down, Wilson said. After a dawn mop-up, Gunnery Range Tango 2 will be ready for training a team of snipers from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
