By September each year, Mark Twain National Forest firefighters have typically returned home to their duty stations from the various western wildfires to which they had been dispatched throughout the summer.
Upon their return, they begin preparing for the fall and spring prescribed fire and wildfire seasons.
While fire managers with special training in writing prescriptive burn plans and monitoring fuels, such as woody material and leaf litter, meet with district rangers to plan out the year’s prescribed fire work, other fire managers are making operational plans.
The following is a glimpse into the operational preparations that go on in order to be fully ready for prescribed fire or wildfire suppression.
