Wildfires Published Oct. 6, 2011 By 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Department BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Wild fires, wild land fires, forest fires and woodland fires are all common names associated with fires that are fueled by weather, wind and dry underbrush. These fires can uncontrollably burn acres of land and destroy everything in their path within minutes. According to www.nationalgeographic.com, "On average, more than 100,000 wildfires clear 4 to 5 million acres of land in the United States each year." Why is this important to Team Barksdale? Simply put, our base could very easily be part of these statistics. There have been two major wild land fires recently and several smaller ones that were extinguished before they grew. Barksdale has been lucky that no one has been hurt and no homes or equipment have been lost. Without a doubt, wild land fires are deadly and destructive. Wild land fires need three conditions present to ignite: fuel, oxygen and a heat source. Fuel can be trees, grass or brush. Air is the oxygen in the mixture. The heat source can be lightning, camp-fires, the sun, hot exhaust or a catalytic converter on a vehicle, or more commonly a discarded cigarette carelessly flicked from a vehicle. The Barksdale fire department urges all personnel to remember the base and the surrounding communities are in an extremely high fire danger situation. Use common sense. Do not park or drive vehicles in tall grass, do not discard cigarette butts onto the ground and obey the no open flame rules on the base. Barksdale and its surrounding communities are currently under a fire ban because of the extremely high fire risk conditions. Be vigilant and cognizant of your actions. If you see smoke or fire, leave the area quickly and call 911 to report it. Do not try to extinguish these fires yourself. Wild land fires are dangerous fast moving fires. Call the fire department immediately.