Simmons Gap Thinning Project creates defensible space to lower wildfire risk to ranger station and housing in Shenandoah National Park

In summer 2022, Shenandoah National Park wildland fire staff along with personnel from the park’s trails crew and exotics crew, created a defensible space around structures in the Simmons Gap area of the park. The work involved removing and/or reducing vegetation next to structures to create a buffer in the event of a wildfire. Using a FireWise® approach, an area of 30 feet is cleared of excess vegetation so that firefighters have a space to suppress a wildfire. The area from 30 to 100 feet is also thinned from excess fuels to reduce the intensity of a wildland fire.

Park personnel clear vegetation to improve defensible space around NPS structures at Shenandoah National Park.

NPS/J Jarrells

The 2.5-acre fuels project was completed with $4000.00 of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. After completing the project, the park reassessed structures in the area using the Wildland Fire Risk Assessment Protocol. The reassessments captured the reduction in vegetation around the structures which results in a lower risk of damage from a wildland fire to the structure.

While SHEN has completed defensible space projects in the past around structures, more work is needed. With the additional funding provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the park is planning additional defensible space projects to help protect structures from wildland fires in the future.