Fire Management on Cumberland Island
Learn more about how NPS is managing controlled-fires on Cumberland Island.
The Future of Fire
In the past six months, Superintendent Fred Boyles has taken some encouraging steps toward restoring fire to Cumberland Island. First, the park funded and supported a historical fire regime study that will help determine the role of fire on the Island. Second, the park has funded and intends to hire a fire management officer with a background in fire use […]
Fighting fires—and corruption
Earlier this summer, a small wildfire smoldered in the Cumberland Island Wilderness near Willow Pond. It likely would have fizzled out on its own, and there were no nearby structures for at least two miles. Cumberland Island adopted a fire management plan in 2004 that mandates full fire suppression, even in the wilderness. Several fire crews and two helicopters were […]