About 40 acres of land at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is expected to burn Thursday as part of a wildfire prevention training excercise.
The controlled burns will take place between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday to help clear brush in the event of a wildfire, military officials said.
Nearly 80 firefighters with MCAS Miramar Fire Stations 61 and 62, Cal Fire and San Diego Fire-Rescue will participate in the cross-training excercise, the second of its kind so far.
The crews involved in the training will become certified to train other firefighters.
The training will also fulfill a second purpose -- to clear overgrown brush on the military base before the heat of summer, when a combination of strong winds, high heat and low humidity has the potential to spark dangerous wildfires.
"We have a controlled environment here, we are monitory the weather and the field moisture, we are making sure we do it on a day that there will be adequate control but that is part of the class too making sure the students understand how to control the intensity of the fire and what techniques to use to keep the fire intensity low," Rancho Santa Fe Battalion Chief Bret Davidson said.
The training is the second ever hosted by the the statewide program known as CA-219, and the first ever in San Diego.
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Drivers along Interstate 15 and other roads near the base may see smoke and flames from the perscribed burns.