Fire and Aviation
The El Yunque National Forest is a tropical rain forest. It receives an average annual rainfall of 120 inches or more; as a consequence, the forest’s humidity is very high during most of the year. Conditions are not as conducive to wild land fires as they are in the dry, temperate climates encountered in mainland US forests. The last fire incident in the Caribbean National forest (a minimal fire which was quickly controlled) was recorded in 1994.
The El Yunque National Forest trains and dispatches fire crews to fight fires
that occur in other US National Forests. In 1991 the first Fire Crew to be
trained in the El Yunque National Forest was dispatched from Puerto Rico to
fight wild land fires in the United States.
In 2001 a total of 22 fire crews were trained, qualified and dispatched from
the El Yunque National Forest to fight wildfires on National Forests and
Grasslands during an extremely busy fire season.
The El Yunque National Forest has implemented an Incident Management Plan
that includes provisions for the prompt deployment of Incident Management Teams.
In the event of a fire or other natural disaster (major landslide, hurricane,
earthquake) or if access control of roads is required due to heavy forest
visitation, an Incident Management Team is rapidly formed and deployed under
an Incident
Commander. Incident Management Teams are made-up of regular personnel from
the El Yunque National Forest. Many have been cross-trained in special
skills
(fire suppression, helicopter support crew) that they may be called-upon
to use as a team member. Seasonal updates on incident potential are given
to all
forest personnel at monthly Safety Meetings. The El Yunque National Forest
is justly proud of its record of responding promptly and efficiently to
such incidents whenever they have occurred.
|