The swift response of Fort Hunter Liggett, California, to the encroaching Plaskett Fire in the adjacent Los Padres National Forest reflects its emergency preparedness and strong mutual aid partnerships in Monterey County, California. The fire ignited Aug. 26, burned 29,976 acres and is 89% contained as of yesterday.
There is no threat to the cantonment area, and the installation continues daily operations to support military training. While the threat never necessitated activating the installation's emergency operations center, garrison directorates effectively synchronized operations to deliver rapid fire-support operations. Fort Hunter Liggett remains mission ready with minimal disruption to daily operations.
"I'm incredibly proud of the tremendous teamwork and dedication the installation and our tenants displayed," said Army Col. Jason McKenzie, the garrison commander. "The fact that our military training and daily operations continued through these last two weeks illustrates that Fort Hunter Liggett is always mission ready."
The installation's fire department routinely monitors regional fire activity and conducts prescribed fires, when possible, to reduce the abundant fuel in and around the installation. They immediately started defensive planning and acting when they learned of the Plaskett Fire.
Aaron Smith, Fort Hunter Liggett fire chief, is serving as the installation's unified incident commander and is working alongside California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 to ensure a coordinated, safe and effective response to the Plaskett Fire. Fort Hunter Liggett is providing dozers, dozer bosses and dozer operators in support of suppression operations. The installation is also providing an advanced life support ambulance to support the incident medical plan.
"At the same time, we continue to maintain a dedicated initial attack capability for structural and wildland emergencies for the installation," Smith said. "This allows us to support the larger firefighting effort while continuing to protect our community, infrastructure, and training mission."
The Directorate of Public Works Roads and Ground crew works in lockstep with firefighters year-round to create firebreaks. DPW provided four dozers and eight equipment operators to the incident management control team, creating new firebreaks and enhancing existing ones to help contain the fire.
"I've heard nothing but great things from the incident team…they're doing a great job. I'm very proud of my team for their contributions," said Army Lt. Col. Loren Baldwin, DPW director.
The Fort Hunter Liggett police department plays a critical role in patrolling infrastructure and establishing a checkpoint at the installation's Nacimiento-Ferguson Road entry to prevent non-emergency responders' traffic from impeding fire operations. Those living within the Los Padres Forest and installation boundaries have unimpeded access to their homes.
Through it all, Fort Hunter Liggett remains fully operational, with the installation's Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security team coordinating and synchronizing support efforts. With more than a dozen aircraft supporting the fire and thousands of firefighters in and around the installation, Range Operations are operating at full throttle. They are constantly engaged — monitoring the situation, collecting data and supporting the U.S. Forest Service Fire Service base camp at Schoonover Airfield.
"While our EOC-Light and weekend operations were highly successful, our true victory lies in the lessons learned. We are already leveraging this experience to refine our systems, processes, and communication tools," said Paul Lewis, DPTMS director. "I could not be prouder of the DPTMS team and the garrison's unified response."
The AirNow website reported that air quality at the installation ranged from moderate to hazardous. However, Fort Hunter Liggett discovered that the quality measurements used by online platforms such as AirNow are based on sensors 40-50 miles from the installation. To rectify this, DPTMS worked with the PurpleAir site and installed four air quality sensors inside the cantonment area. These measures allow the installation to get accurate readings and apply appropriate safety measures to protect those who work and live at Fort Hunter Liggett.
Effective communication during any crisis is critical, and the installation uses all available channels to keep the Fort Hunter Liggett community and neighbors informed. The installation uses face-to-face briefings, internal emails, the My Army Post app, mass notification systems, and many online platforms to communicate with the community. Fort Hunter Liggett also has a webpage dedicated to fire-related information.
Good communication and the fact that this is not the first or last wildfire the installation has faced, helps the community stay prepared. The Dolan Fire in 2020 was the last major wildfire to significantly impact the installation. Then and now, seeing the night sky aglow is traumatic for Fort Hunter Liggett residents.
"I went through the Dolan Fire filled with fear and uncertainty. Facing the Plaskett Fire, I understood exactly what could happen," said Talia Wesley, a FHL resident and Army civilian. "That experience didn't erase the fear, but it gave me the resilience, strength and clarity to prepare. I can't control the flames, smoke, or wind in either event, but I can control my readiness."
Wesley and many installation residents are prepared with air purifiers, to-go bags for evacuation orders, and dusted-off family emergency plans.
"The Dolan Fire taught me the reality of wildfire danger; the Plaskett Fire showed me how preparation turns fear into action," she said.
McKenzie said that serving and protecting the community requires a united front and Fort Hunter Liggett is showing its true colors to support each other.
"We're also incredibly grateful for the Army Reserve providing emergency funds, Cadence Communities for sharing command information to keep our residents informed, the Association of the U.S. Army for providing N95 face masks to combat the hazardous air quality, and many others that helped during our time of need," he said.
During the Sept. 8 virtual community town hall, Tom Clemo, incident commander, emphasized the importance of community engagement, listening to concerns and building partnerships.
"The partnerships that have been created…Chief [Aaron] Smith at Fort Hunter Liggett has done an amazing job taking care of firefighters at the base," Clemo said. "If there's anything we've learned during incident management, [it] is that we cannot do this alone."
The Plaskett Fire has reduced some of the available wildland fuels within the affected area, but that does not eliminate the installation's future wildfire risk, Smith said.
"We will continue evaluating burned and unburned areas, maintaining established fuel breaks, conducting mitigation activities when conditions permit and incorporating lessons from this incident into Fort Hunter Liggett's long-term wildland fire management planning," he said.
Preparedness, prevention and strong interagency coordination will remain central to protecting the installation and sustaining its training mission.
Fire also risks federally protected resources and future erosion. The Fort Hunter Liggett DPW environmental team coordinates with CIIMT-7 by providing environmental data for operations and recovery planning. The environmental team will follow up in 2027 with surveys of key areas to monitor the status of threatened and endangered species and cultural resource sites.
Steep, remote terrain and weather play a critical role in fire containment. Various fire operations continue, including applying mobile fire retardant, building backfires, deploying direct handline crews, and building firebreaks continue. Plaskett Fire information is available here.
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