Fort Indiantown Gap begins spring 2019 prescribed burn season

Courtesy Photo | An approximately 20-acre prescribed burn was conducted by forestry staff at Fort Indiantown Gap, Feb. 28, 2012. Prescribed burns are a forestry management technique used to reduce the amount of combustible material naturally existing in the wilderness. They are conducted when conditions such as humidity, wind, temperature are ideal for managing fires. Prescribed burns are not conducted unless all required weather conditions are met. The prescribed burn season at Fort Indiantown Gap for this half of 2012 should last through April. (Photo by Tom Cherry/Released)  

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES

03.15.2019

Courtesy Story

Fort Indiantown Gap

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - The installation has begun its spring prescribed burn season to reduce the risk of wildfires at Fort Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County.

The burns will be conducted on approximately 4,500 acres, as conditions permit, March 18 through May 3 between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Local residents may notice smoke originating from or in the vicinity of the installation while burns are being conducted.

A prescribed burn is a commonly used forestry management technique that reduces the amount of combustible material naturally existing in the wilderness. It is performed only when conditions such as humidity, wind and temperature are ideal for managing fires. Prescribed burns are not conducted unless all required conditions are met.

Fort Indiantown Gap, headquarters to the DMVA and Pennsylvania National Guard, offers more than 17,000 acres and 140 training areas and facilities for year-round training. It balances one of the region’s most ecologically diverse areas with a military mission that annually supports 19,000 Pennsylvania National Guard personnel and more than 130,000 other states’ Guard, military, law enforcement, and civilian personnel each year. It is the only live-fire, maneuver military training facility in Pennsylvania. It is the busiest Army National Guard training center in the nation.

For more information visit the Fort Indiantown Gap website, or follow us on Facebook.

Individuals may also call the installation’s community information line at 717-861-2007 to hear a recorded message with dates and times of community activities and training events.

Fort Indiantown Gap is now enrolled in AlertPA, a mass notification service by CodeRED. Subscribe to get alerts delivered straight to your phone and/or email whenever the installation is conducting prescribed burns or training that may result in increased noise levels. Sign up for AlertPA here, then subscribe to Fort Indiantown Gap community notifications under 'Additional Notifications'. Notification settings may be adjusted as needed at any time.

Media contact: Lt. Col. Keith Hickox, 717-861-6254

• Date Taken: 03.15.2019
• Date Posted: 03.15.2019 15:43
• Story ID: 314456
• Location: FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US