Fire Focus

A fuel break can be used to conduct fire management training, research, and education that increases our communities' ability to live with fire. The community of Tok, AK has taken this approach by regularly re-treating the Red Fox fuel break and using that space as an education and demonstration site. 

Through ongoing engagement with fire management and research, fire protection is enhanced. With regular maintenance, a community can ensure that access for equipment and personnel in a fuel break will always be possible when needed. Further, having a space for firefighter training and community education reinforces a culture of wildfire preparedness. Technical training and knowledge transfer are critical to reduce wildfire risk over the long-term. Fuel breaks designed with this intention could support large and small-scale experimentation to address operational issues (e.g., comparing the efficiency of equipment) or answer relevant ecological questions (e.g., the environmental impacts and burn rates in vary prescription types.