5Bthe Cannoneer, February 9, 2012

Worship

After the past year ofextreme heat and giant wild-fires it’s kind of odd to nowtalk of prescribed burning.

But, thanks to the rains ofthe past few months we are ingood condition to get out andaccomplish some much need-ed burning. Without beingable to do prescribed burns inareas that needed burning lastyear it made the wildfires evenworse. Believe me, it is betterto prescribe burn a little on aday when weather conditionsare favorable rather than wait-ing for a wildfire driven byhigh winds and low humidity.

As we start the prescribedburn season, let’s look at ourbasic reasons for burning atFort Sill.

First, there are certaintimes when the military mis-sion requires access to a site

that is not hidden beneathgrass and weeds that are 6-feet tall. With proper coordi-nation, the fire departmentcan clear a small number ofsuch sites.

Second, we sometimesneed to clear the vegetationfrom an area to repair dam-age or for planting trees.This work is done throughthe Integrated Training AreaManagement folks.They arethe folks that turn ruts, gul-lies and mud holes back intoquality training lands. Doingtheir best gives Soldiers ofthe future the same chanceto train as those today.

Another reason is toremove fuel build up. As wasdefinitely noted last summer,in areas that had not burnedin a long time, the fuel loadwas high and the fires were

hot. This was especially truewhen the humidity was lowand the winds hot as it wasmuch of last year.

Although there were somebig fires in this part of thestate last year, much of FortSill did not burn. This wasmainly due to the manytraining restrictions enactedby the military during thehigh fire danger period. Forthat we can be thankful, butthat leaves a lot of placesthat have accumulated fuelfor years. The blizzards andice storms of the past left

many tree tops and branch-es lying on the ground. Thedrought killed many othertrees leaving them ready toburn.These areas need to beburned during times thatthey can be controlled andnot cause the extreme dam-age of last summer.

Finally, we conduct pre-scribed burns to manage ourwildlife habitat in a mannerthat imitates Mother Nature,maintaining the balance ofgrass, forbs and trees, andkeeping the system produc-tive.

As with so many otherthings, it is not so much aquestion of quantity butrather of timing and place-ment. Burning in winter issafer because temperaturesare lower and relativehumidity is higher which, intheory, means it is harder fora fire to get away. It alsomeans that you can removesome of the dead grass andother ground cover withoutworrying too much aboutkilling trees and roots likeyou would during a hot firein the summer

The absence of fire has twoeffects. First, without firethere is an accumulation ofnutrients on top of the soilwhere the plants cannot usethem. Second, without fireyou end up with more trees.If you have enough trees they

shade out most of the grassand forbs that grow under-neath which means there isno longer enough fuel thereto carry a fire, at least not anice safe winter fire.

We will also do some sum-mer burns later since theyhave a different type ofeffect that is sometimesneeded, but that is anotherstory.

I want to remind everyonethe next time you see one ofFort Sill’s firefighters thankthem not only for thechances they take savingour homes and our lives, butalso for the help they are inmaintaining our quality nat-ural resources.

Our next Fort Sill huntersafety class is Feb. 13 at 6p.m. in the NaturalResources Class Room.

Prescribed burns lessen wildfire danger

Collective ProtestantSunday, 9 a.m. Protestant

spiritual fitness, Building5955, (Bible study for InitialEntry Trainees);

9 a.m. 95th AG Battalion(Reception) service,Resiliency Training Campus,Building 2934 (for InitialEntry Trainees);

9:30 a.m. InstallationProtestant Sunday school,Frontier Chapel Center;

9:45 a.m. TraditionalProtestant service, QuarryHill Chapel (for Initial EntryTrainees);

9:30 and 11 a.m. CollectiveProtestant service, New PostChapel;

10:30 a.m. CollectiveProtestant service, SheridanTheater (for Initial EntryTrainees);

11 a.m. Gospel Protestantservice, Frontier ChapelCenter;

11 a.m. LifePointContemporary service,Resiliency Training Campus,Building 2934; and

6:30 p.m. Bible study, NewPost Chapel.

Monday, 9 a.m. flower min-istry, New Post Chapel.

Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.Protestant Women of theChapel, Frontier ChapelCenter; and

7 p.m. Gospel Bible study,Frontier Chapel Center.

Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.Collective Protestant Biblestudy, RACH;

6 p.m. Youth Service,Resiliency Training Campus;and

Thursday, 6:15 p.m.WarriorBible study, ResiliencyTraining Campus.

Roman CatholicSunday, 8 a.m.

Confessions, Frontier

Chapel Center, (for InitialEntry Trainees);

8:30 a.m. Mass (for InitialEntry Trainees), FrontierChapel Center;

10 a.m. Catholic Spiritualfitness (for Initial EntryTrainees), Gunner’s InnWelcome Center

10:30 a.m. CommunityMass, Grierson Hill Chapel;

4:30 p.m. Confessions,Grierson Hill Chapel; and

5 p.m. Community VigilMass, Grierson Hill Chapel.

Monday through Friday,11:45 p.m. weekday Mass,Frontier Chapel Center.

Church of Christ Sunday, 11 a.m. service,

Quarry Hill Chapel.Episcopal

Sunday, 10 a.m. service,Old Post Chapel.

IslamicSunday, 8 a.m. Islamic

studies, 1-40th BattalionClassroom 1.

Latter-Day Saints Sunday, 8:30 a.m. service,

1-19th Battalion Classroom 1.Wicca

Sunday, 9 a.m. service, 1-31st Battalion Classroom 1.

Ash Wednesday ServiceFeb. 2211:45 a.m. Frontier Chapel

Center;6 p.m. Grierson Hill

Chapel;6:45 p.m. Frontier Chapel

Center;7 p.m. Quarry Hill Chapel.For contact information

about services, visit the FortSill Intranet, click the‘Chaplains’ quick link, thengo to ‘Religious ServicesSchedule.’

Pet of the Week

Wild SideBy GLEN WAMPLER

Deadline for submissions is close of business Thursday, aweek before publication. For news tips and feature items,

or to submit announcements and information, e-mailusarmy.sill.tradoc.mbx.cannoneer@mail.mil or call 442-5150.

Photo by Cannoneer staffSamantha is a spayed, domesticshorthaired cat with tabby pat-tern, age 11, who is looking for agood home. She does not likeother cats, however, she lovespeople. She is available for adop-tion at the Fort Sill Stray Facility.