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Air Force burning part of Huffman Prairie

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Staff Report Updated 12:09 PM Tuesday, January 10, 2012

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — Air Force personnel will deliberately set fire to part of Huffman Prairie on Tuesday afternoon to get rid of non-native plant species and provide training for the base’s firefighters.

Huffman Prairie is the field where Wilbur and Orville Wright demonstrated their ability to control the flight of one of their early powered airplanes.

About 50 acres of Huffman Prairie are to be burned, starting at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, officials at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base said. The burn will create columns of smoke visible around the Dayton area, base officials said.

The operation had originally been scheduled in November, but weather conditions were judged to be unfavorable. The last similar burn was done in the fall of 2009.

Base firefighters and personnel from Ohio’s forestry division are to supervise the burning.

The Air Force oversees environmental protection for the land, which includes part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.

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