Whitney Fire Opens Up Prescribed Fire Opportunity at Cumberland Island National Seashore

Fire managers used the footprint of a wildfire to buffer the North Cut prescribed fire in July 2019.

NPS

In late July 2019, fire crews at Cumberland Island National Seashore took advantage of an unexpected opportunity. The Whitney Fire which burned on the island in June and July 2019, provided an opportunity for NPS and interagency partners to carry out a prescribed burn operation that has been planned since 2017.

The North Cut Burn Plan was developed in accordance with Cumberland Island’s 2015 Fire Management Plan to support the park’s structural protection plan for north end structures while allowing for natural fire to play its role in the wilderness area to its south. The burn operation was scheduled to be carried out prior to the year 2022.

The 270-acre unit consisted of pine and oak scrub, live oak and pine stands, shrubs, palmettos, and leaf/pine needle litter. Areas immediately adjacent to the boundaries set for this unit, along North Cut Road, had recently burned during the lightning-caused Whitney Fire, providing a boundary to support containment to the prescribed area. In addition, the Whitney Fire footprint created a strategic buffer that will slow future wildland fire growth towards the private structures on the north side of the island.

The prescribed fire reduced hazardous fuels in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), protected structures and cultural resources adjacent to the burn unit, and promoted a healthy fire frequency of the oak scrub ecosystem. Shawn Nagle, regional fire management officer stated, "in addition to the objective of reducing fuel loading, Richie Sinkovitz, the park's fire management officer, continues to successfully collaborate with his interagency partners to accomplish shared goals."