8 minute read
Learning in the Wild
How an unexpected fire in Michaux State Forest offered learning opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
At 4:09pm of April 23, 2025, the Cumberland County 9-1-1 Center received a report of a fire in the Michaux State Forest and dispatched Cumberland County Company 52, Vigilant Hose, to the area of Thompson Hollow. Within 30 minutes, three additional fire companies were dispatched. Just seven miles from Shippensburg University, it wasn’t long until the smoke was visible from campus. Though the fire was never a threat to campus, there were many members of the campus community who were directly impacted by the fire and supported the efforts to contain the blaze.
The Michaux fire was accidentally set and according to Dr. Sean Cornell, associate professor of Geography and Earth Science, fires within that forest are not a new event.
“District foresters now know that the open oak and pine forests of South Mountain were shaped by Indigenous people that practiced ‘cultural burning’ to promote habitats and species that they depended upon for their hunter gatherer lifestyles,” explained Cornell.
Cornell frequently uses the Michaux Forest as an outdoor classroom for his students and there is a lot to learn about how fire can impact public lands like Michaux.
“Wildfires are a means for ecosystem renewal and have been part of the forest ecology for millennia. Such fires help clear understory and allow sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor—this helps promote regeneration of native species like oak and pitch pine and many forest wildflower species. They also help maintain habitats important for grouse, turkey, butterflies, moths, and other pollinators that live only in forested areas,” Cornell said.
While the benefits of a controlled fire are clear, there is a lot of potential for harm when they are not planned or controlled.
From a geological lens, Cornell explained fires can enhance the risk of soil erosion and can intensify flash floods.
“When wildfires consume debris and plants on forested slopes, this will increase erosion and lead to higher sediment loads in runoff. This impacts streams and aquatic life and since communities downstream depend on streams for their water supplies, any impact to water quality has the potential to impact water quality for these communities,” Cornell said.
Wildfires, like the Michaux fire, can also decrease air quality in nearby communities. This was the case in the Shippensburg area, which was placed under a Code Orange air quality alert by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for several days. This alert means the air quality may be unhealthy for sensitive groups like children, the elderly, and folks with respiratory issues.
The largest and most immediate threat from the Michaux fire though was to property, infrastructure, the lives of those in the immediate area and the firefighters who responded to contain the fire.
On the scene
Mitchell Brett ’25, an ROTC cadet, was weeks away from graduating from Ship and commissioning as a first lieutenant into the Pennsylvania National Guard and senior Daniel Prachthauser was preparing for finals, when they got a crash course in wildland firefighting as volunteers with the Vigilant Hose Fire Company.
“We’ve responded to smaller brush fires on a somewhat normal basis; however, it is less common for us to get wildfires such as the Michaux fire,” explained Brett.
Before arriving in Shippensburg, Brett was a volunteer firefighter in Kempton, PA.
His father and brother were both involved in the fire and EMS community, and he spent years tagging along until he was old enough to become a junior member of the company.
In the state of Pennsylvania, at the age of 14, junior firefighters can participate in a variety of emergency services activities, including training, providing first aid, scene cleanup, and support.
Once an individual turns 18 and completes over 140 hours of required training they can become an interior structural firefighter.
Prachthauser, of Morristown, New Jersey and also an ROTC cadet, became a volunteer after connecting with the fire company during a recruitment event on campus.
“One of my friends was already a member and convinced me to put in an application and by the time November came I started taking my introduction to firefighting classes,” said Prachthauser.
Like Brett, he completed the required courses to become an interior firefighter along with more advanced training offered through the company.
“This is just scraping the surface of what is the bare minimum training requirements. To be competent and proficient at the job, many other courses are necessary, as this job is very diverse and we handle much more than just fires,” explained Brett.
Shortly after Brett and Prachtauser responded to the initial call for the Michaux State Forest, it quickly became a two-week, multi-agency incident that is projected to be one of the largest wildland fires in recent Pennsylvania history. Two fires burned simultaneously, one in the Thompson Hollow area, right outside of Shippensburg, and the second at Hammonds Rock, north of Shippensburg in Dickinson Township.
Brett spent six days battling the fire.
“When it comes to wildland firefighting, the work is much more based around the goal of containment rather than extinguishment. Due to the nature of wildfires and the terrain, the ability to get firefighting apparatus in areas of need is extremely limited. Most of wildland firefighting involves manual labor, cutting fire break lines with axes and rakes, using chainsaws to cut dead trees in the black (already burned area), and protecting structures as a last resort,” explained Brett.
After the initial response to the fire, Prachthauser attended classes during the day and then headed back to the scene to assist.
“The winds were pushing the fire, and it was starting to threaten structures and jump roads. It was hard work at times, but our crews were ready to work when we were on the mountain,” said Prachthauser.
Much of their effort was dedicated to protecting homes and structures. Several university faculty and staff members were evacuated from their homes and others scrambled to move livestock to temporary locations.
“There was a lot of effort put towards protecting structures by removing flammable materials from around the buildings. Thanks to those efforts from everyone, not a single structure was lost due to this fire,” explained Prachthauser.
After the initial response PA’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, headed by DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn ’80-’81m, managed the response efforts with the support of the Cumberland County Emergency Operations Center, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and the Pennsylvania State Police.
It took several days for crews to gain control and contain any portion of the fires due to dry conditions and high winds. In total, 175 firefighters from 160 different fire departments from Pennsylvania and surrounding states responded to the incident.
Beyond the work on the fire lines, agencies coordinated road closures, evacuations, staffing, water drops, and more.
Shippensburg University Police Department’s Officer Jeff Shubert also assisted on the scene as part of Cumberland County’s Emergency Drone Team.
“The command center needed aerial photos of where the fire was going and spreading, so our team responded,” said Shubert.
He used his drone to help responders track the fire’s progression and locate personnel.
On May 6, the fires were declared 100 percent contained with over 2,200 acres burned in the Thompson Hallow fire and 470 acres at Hammond Rock.
Preparing for the next fight
Several weeks following the Michaux fire, DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry was back in Shippensburg, but this time for its annual Wildland Fire Academy. Hosted at Ship for the last four years, this training welcomed 450 participants from every county in Pennsylvania, as well as individuals from
Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Brett and Prachthauser are also advancing their firefighting experience and skills in their own ways. Brett, now a second lieutenant in the Pennsylvania National Guard, is attending a six-month fire academy as a new hire with the Allentown Fire Department.
Prachthauser plans to stay active with the Vigilant Hose Company during his senior year, juggling classes, ROTC, and volunteer firefighting. It’s a lot to manage, but he’s committed to continuing to serve his community, while prioritizing his education.
“Even when it comes to responding to emergencies late at night or early in the morning, I have yet to miss a class or assignment. While joining the Vigilant Hose Company has taught me skills for life, it has also made me a more dedicated and committed student,” said Prachthauser.
