Photo by Tom Mackenzie 2/2/2006, Blackwater NWR. USFWS firefighter Chad Becker uses a drip torch to ignite fuels along Shorters Wharf Rd.

Photo by Tom Mackenzie, 2/2/2006, Blackwater NWR. Maryland DNR firefighter Tony Kapela and USFWS firefighter Dan Pearson use a marshmaster, capable of traversing wetlands without damaging terrain and equipped with a water pump and tank, to monitor and mop up edges of prescribed fire at Blackwater NWR.

A crew of seven U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service firefighters and one Maryland Department of Natural Resources firefighter successfully accomplished a Wildland-Urban Interface burn near the community of Shorters Wharf on February 2, 2006.  The area is a crucial area to keep burned on a regular basis as prescribed fire will not only reduce the chances of unwanted and unplanned fire coming off the refuge, but also to reduce the chance of fire that originates on the town side from spilling over onto the refuge.