Photo Essay: 2016 Prescribed Burn, Helicopter Water-Bucket Training at Fort McCoy

Photo By Scott Sturkol | A Blackhawk helicopter and crew with the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment of Madison, Wis., carries a giant water bucket to a douse a fire April 12, 2016, at Range 29 at Fort McCoy, Wis., as part of fire-suppression training. Personnel with the fire department, the Directorate of Public Works Natural Resources Branch, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and aircrew and Blackhawk helicopters with the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment of Madison, Wis., participated in fire training at the range during the prescribed burn. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

11.12.2019

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                                

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Blackhawk helicopters and crews with the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment of Madison, Wis., carried a giant water buckets to a douse a fire April 12, 2016, at Range 29 at Fort McCoy, Wis., as part of fire-suppression training.

Personnel with the Fort McCoy Fire Department, the Directorate of Public Works Natural Resources Branch, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and aircrew and Blackhawk helicopters with the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment of Madison, Wis., participated in fire training at the range during the prescribed burn.

Prescribed burns improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities, and reduce wildfire potential, said Charles Mentzel, Fort McCoy forestry technician who oversees the prescribed burn program.

“Prescribed burns benefit the environment many ways and are one of the tools we can use on a large scale to improve our wild habitat,” he said. “The burns also set back small trees and shrubs and make them grow again from the stump. This allows for more food for deer and other animals and removes unwanted (tree) species from the understory, such as white pines growing underneath an oak forest.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services each year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

• Date Taken: 11.12.2019
• Date Posted: 11.12.2019 13:48
• Story ID: 351428
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US