Prescribed fires this week at Gettysburg intended to restore July 1863 appearance

Fire area near Devil's Den (Gettysburg NMP)

The prescribed fires program at Gettysburg National Military Park is one of those projects “that will last forever,” according to its superintendent.

Ed Clark told the Picket last week that the park is ramping up its schedule of fires to remove vegetation regrowth. Such park management and preservation can be expensive: Gettysburg spent $70,000 removing it in a 10-acre tract.

Fires scheduled for this week are intended to “maintain the conditions of the battlefield as experienced by the soldiers who fought here; perpetuate the open space character of the landscape; maintain wildlife habitat, control invasive exotic species; reduce shrub and woody species components, and reduce fuels in wooded areas to reduce fire hazard.”

The current schedule, weather permitting: Eight acres at the Triangular Field near Devil’s Den on Sept. 7 (Wednesday), followed by a prescribed fire on 14 acres at Pardee Field on Culp’s Hill on Sep. 8 (Thursday). 

During the prescribed fire at Pardee Field, Geary, Slocum, East Confederate and Colgrove avenues will be temporarily closed, mainly in the afternoon.  During the prescribed fire at Triangular Field, part of Sickles Avenue and the Devil’s Den parking area will be closed from mid-morning through the afternoon.

Updated information on fire and smoke conditions will be posted on the Gettysburg social media sites, officials said.