Burning Up

MILLIONS OF ACRES BURN EVERY YEAR in wildfires across the country. Many are caused by human carelessness, but the steady increase of temperatures due to climate change is making forests drier and more prone to burning. When our homes and resources are threatened, we rely on wildland firefighters to manage the flames and protect our livelihoods.

Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC)—a program of Conservation Legacy—worked in partnership with state and federal agencies like the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Americorps, and others to establish the Veterans Fire Corps (VFC) in 2009. The program engages recent-era Veterans on a variety of fire suppression projects and helps to develop the next generation of the nation’s wildland firefighters.

Four of Conservation Legacy’s local programs currently operate VFC crews. For most of the members, their term of service begins at Colorado Firecamp. Established in 2002, Colorado Firecamp is a nonprofit wildland firefighter school that offers basic 100- and 200- level courses developed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Courses focus on leadership, incident command, and fire suppression skills. Graduates are eligible to receive a red card, which qualifies them to fight wildfires. 

Over 400 Veterans have completed seasons with Conservation Legacy through VFC programming since Southwest Conservation Corps supported the inaugural program back in 2009. In early March of 2019, Southwest Conservation Corps again broke new ground by sending the first Ancestral Lands VFC crew to Firecamp. The crew of Native Vets completed basic training led by Colorado River Wildland Division Chief Zach Pigati, and performed a small prescribed slash pile burn on a nearby property to culminate their field training. 

According to the National Interagency Fire Center in 2018, 8,582,609 acres were burned by 55,911 different wildfire starts throughout the United States, and 2019 predictions anticipate those numbers increasing. It’s important to remember that while they can at times be catastrophic, most wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems, and—under normal conditions—are a healthy way for forests to self-regulate and periodically clear the dead growth in their understory. This process returns the nutrients in to the soil where they can then be reabsorbed, rather than trapping them in the dead plant matter. Some plants and trees actually require fire in order to reproduce. They rely on the extreme heat caused by forest fires to melt the resin that coats their fruits in order for the seedlings inside to be released. Species include lodgepole pine and manzanita, both of which grow in the southwestern region of the United States, where SCC operates. Unless wildfires are especially extreme or threatening cities or towns, they should be allowed to run their course.

However, the positive outcomes of wildfires decrease when they are met with the effects of climate change. With temperatures rising and droughts lengthening, many fires are burning longer and hotter, and ecosystems are sometimes unable to regenerate after being scorched. “Annual moisture deficits were significantly greater from 2000 to 2015 as compared to 1985–1999, suggesting increasingly unfavorable post‐fire growing conditions, corresponding to significantly lower seedling densities and increased regeneration failure,” explains a 2017 publication of Ecology Letters. When fires encroach on property or resources, or threaten to burn out of control, wildland firefighters are ready to respond.

Conservation Legacy VFC crews become quickly acquainted with the ‘grunt work’ that firefighting demands. They spend a lot of time clearing ground and ladder fuels—using chainsaws and hand tools to clear small trees, shrubs, and dead plant matter which can carry fire from the ground into the canopy and ignite deadly ‘crown fires’. Hazard fuel reduction is vital fire suppression work, and can also include tactics like thinning densely forested areas and limbing trees. Crews can also be mobilized on prescribed burns, and at times, initial fire attack.

It can be challenging to readjust to civilian life after military service. Many VFC crew members find the program to be a welcome bridge between their service and ‘normal’ life. Traditional jobs tend to lack the structure, camaraderie, and adrenaline rush that vets experience during their military career, which often leaves them feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled. “It’s taken me a long time to find something like this,” explained one VFC member while clearing ladder fuels in Coronado National Monument in Arizona. “For a lot of us—for warriors—it’s hard to transition into a behind-the-desk job. I know there are a lot of veterans out there who are looking for something to put themselves into that means something again…And this is really helpful for that.”