‘Holy Smokes’ Fire consumes 262 acres near Hurlburt Published Feb. 8, 2007 By Master Sgt. Stuart Camp 1st SOW Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Fire consumed 262 acres of Eglin Air Force Base property Jan. 31 following a 720th Operations Support Squadron training session on a range just outside Hurlburt Field. No one was injured, but clouds of light brown smoke rose from the blaze for more than three hours. According to environmental officials at Eglin, the fire never came within 500 feet of any residential areas. Around 11 a.m., about 16 Advanced Skills Training students were performing routine training on the explosive ordnance disposal range less than a mile west of the base. The team was almost finished with the hour-long training when they saw smoke. "It had just rained, so the area was damp," said Tech. Sgt. Jason Kemp, NCO-in-charge of formal training at AST, who was at the site when the fire began. "It was a delayed reaction. We saw smoke about an hour into the training." "Holy smokes," was Sergeant Kemp's reaction - this was the first time in his eight years that a flare caught the vegetation on fire. According to investigators, two flares traveled past the cleared range and into the woods, igniting a brush fire. Hurlburt firefighters arrived on scene first with an engine and tanker, then supported the Jackson Guard by protecting Hurlburt property, according to a spokesman from the 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron. "It was just a five-acre fire when we got there," said Michael Blakely, deputy fire chief. Jackson Guard wild land fire fighters had four engines, four tractors and about 12 people battling the fire, according to Eglin spokesman Mike Spaits. Units from Jackson Guard and Hurlburt were augmented by Florosa firefighters, who were positioned to battle the blaze if it threatened residential areas to the south. "We work in conjunction with other services such as Florosa Fire Department and Jackson Guard," said Aaron Grindland, 1st SOCES, assistant chief of special operations. "Florosa ensured the houses on Hwy. 98 were safe, we ascertained the base facilities were safe and assisted the Jackson Guard with extinguishing the fire." Mr. Spaits confirmed the fire was 100 percent contained by 6 p.m.