SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 3 ⎯ Affected Environment3.1.3.2 Schofield Barracks Military ReservationFire Management AreasSchofield Barracks Main Post. There is one existing firebreak at SBMP. The existing fire access roadsurrounding the impact area requires continued maintenance via vegetation cutting, grading, and biodegradableherbicide application. This has been the normal maintenance for this fire access road inthe past. In some locations the access road may be widened, if feasible, to upgrade it to the standardof 20 feet. Prescribed burning has been conducted in the past and will continue in the future, primarilywithin the impact area.Mowing is used to maintain vegetation at stubble height in the most commonly used fixed rangessuch as the MF and Central Ranges. Biodegradable herbicide is also be used to control fuels along theedges of all the fire access roads. In situations where the fuels are thick, mechanical removal may beused to supplement the herbicide.Schofield Barracks East Range. There are several existing roads at SBER that will serve as fire controllines during fire suppression. These roads would be maintained to the extent necessary for vehicleaccess. No major fuels management projects are scheduled for SBER, but normal grass cutting alongthe sides of roads would continue as it is currently practiced.Fire History and Firefighting ResourcesSchofield Barracks Main Post. There is a high level of fire danger at some SBMP ranges because therugged terrain limits accessibility for fire suppression (USARHAW and 25th ID [L] 2001a). Highlyflammable plants are particularly abundant throughout the moist habitat areas, especially below3,000 feet. Tracer rounds, pyrotechnics, and indirect fire, such as illumination rounds, are the mostcommon ignition sources, and most wildland fires originate in the ordnance impact area. Fires occurringoff-post have the potential to spread onto the installation. In August 2007, a fire started in Waialuaand spread onto SBMR burning almost 7,000 acres, including 800 acres on SBMR (Daranciangand Fujimori 2007). Two remote automated weather stations (RAWS) on SBMP aid in determiningweather conditions and the threat of wildfires. Schofield has a newly constructed and very up-to-datefire station. SBMP has two commercial pumpers and two military field firefighting vehicles.Wheeler Army Airfield. WAAF is in a developed area between Kunia Road and Kamehameha Highway.Little vegetation in the project area could be involved in a wildland fire. WAAF has a twocompanyfirehouse, crash-fire-rescue vehicles, conventional pumpers, and one field firefighting vehicle(Belt Collins 1994). Fire companies posted at SBMR can augment firefighting support at WAAF.Schofield Barracks East Range. Although SBER is not a live-fire area, a number of wildfires havebeen documented. In the period 1994 to 1998 and 2000 to 2002, a total of 14 fires were reported atSBER. These ranged in size from hundredths of an acre to 10 acres and totaled 23 acres. The mostcommon cause was pyrotechnics of various varieties. (USARHAW and 25th ID(L) 2003). There areno designated firebreak roads on SBER, but all roads are used as fire access roads. SBER is considereda non live-fire range and depends on the closest responding forces (i.e., the City and County ofHonolulu Fire Department) for first response and immediate Federal Fire Dept/Range Control response.The development of SBER-specific SOPs for wildland fire management is critical to ensurefire prevention and mitigation of off-site impacts. The fire management planning process includes researchingthe fire history of the areas, identifying likely ignition sources, and developing methods toreduce fuel loads.February 2008 3–30 2/25th SBCT Final EIS