LeMay Forestry Center History

In 1934 a 60,000 acre fire, a complete absence of modern mechanical forest fire fighting equipment and a lack of any pool of hand tools, fire hose, or pumper parts, forced the Forest Protection Division of the Wisconsin Conservation Department to establish a central warehouse and equipment shop. This Tomahawk central warehouse and shop, along with the chief forest ranger's administrative headquarters, was rapidly established with manpower available through the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), WPA (Work Projects Administration), and purchase of a building that had been used as a locomotive repair shop.

At this time in history, mechanized equipment was very limited and was just starting to be developed. Starting with horse-drawn breaking plows, there gradually emerged a large wheeled Wisconsin fire plow capable of making a seven-foot mineral soil fire break. This fire plow was not stopped by stumps, small trees, brush, stone or packed sod when pulled by a crawler tractor. Until 1978, this basic wheeled fire plow remained the standard fire suppression tool. Starting in 1978, the same fire plow bottom without the wheels was mounted on the rear of a dozer crawler tractor and became a standard unit.

As the heavy tractor and plow unit was being developed in the late 1930's, there was immediate need for transporting it. Analysis of the problem led to the development of a large two-wheeled tilt bed trailer that could be towed by a fire truck. This trailer unit was produced in the Tomahawk shop in quantity sufficient to haul every tractor-plow unit.

During 1972, the need for larger trailers to handle the heavier and wider dozer tractors became apparent. This need began the gradual replacement of the WCD-built trailers with a commercially built tilt bed trailer for hauling new crawler tractors.

With the purchase of new trucks and tractors, Tomahawk became the fire control center to receive and distribute all the equipment. Reserves of all kinds of equipment needed in fire suppression were made and maintained. Because of central combined purchasing, large savings were realized and a well-stocked warehouse soon became a reality. Experimentation with mechanized equipment, adapting it for fire control use, and then providing sufficient quantities to the field became the main function of the facility.

Standard trucks and bulldozers are purchased and then outfitted with accessory equipment to make them efficient fire control units. Water tanks, pumps, large toolboxes for storing hand tools and hose, trailer hitches, special lights, and many other features are built into them. Power take-off, hydraulic motors, and gasoline engines have driven water pumps on these units.

In 1970, the chief forest ranger's administrative headquarters was moved to Madison. Until 1972, all of the fire control crawler tractors were narrow gauge without dozer blades in the 28 to 56 HP range. In 1972, the first crawler tractors with dozer blades were acquired for forest fire control work. These units were equipped with mounted fire plows for the first time, as well as hydraulic motor-driven water pumps instead of the traditional power take-off drive. This was a major change in equipment.

In 1941, a hangar building was built to house the aircraft used for forest fire observation use. Increased use of aircraft for detection purposes added aircraft to the fleet.

In 1975, the air operation was decentralized to the districts. The airstrip at Tomahawk was closed.

Some major changes in the heavy fire trucks began in 1977. For the first time, units were equipped with 600-gallon water tanks instead of 300 gallons.

In 1978, over 100 units, consisting of pick-ups, 3 and 5-ton trucks, crawler tractors, and 12-ton trailers were purchased to update the fire control fleet. To meet this need, all of the water tanks were built by outside contractors for the first time.

Other major changes in 1978 equipment outfitting were having the 5-ton trucks equipped with 1,000 gallon water tanks and the 3-tons with 800 gallon water tanks. All of these heavy units were outfitted with a gasoline engine-driven Homelite portable pump. On the pickups, electric clutch, fan belt-driven water pumps were introduced.

In 1978, the name of the facility was changed from Tomahawk Warehouse and Shop to Tomahawk Equipment and Training Center. This name change reflected the increased effort in forest fire control training with the appointment of the first full-time training officer in 1974. Tomahawk became the hub of the entire fire control training program, having the training officer stationed here. In the early '90's the training department moved to the Rhinelander office facility.

On September 21, 1988, the center was renamed the Neil H. LeMay Forestry Center in honor of the Chief Forest Ranger Neil LeMay who served from 1942-1969.

As the LeMay Center approaches 100 years of operation, the latest equipment being produced includes 75 horsepower, joystick controlled hydrostatic drive crawler tractors with mounted fire plows and 150 gallons of water utilized for an operator protection "shower system". Experimental fire retardant "curtains" have been prototyped for additional tractor-plow operator protection. Type-4 engines with 850 gallons of water still tow a trailer to haul the tractor-plow unit and Type-7x engines carry 150 gallons of water. Both of the trucks utilize gasoline engine-driven water pumps with Class A foam systems.

Two new "low ground" tracked vehicles (Muskegs) were outfitted with 250 gallon water tanks, pumps and foam for use in marsh and wet ground fire fighting. In 2003, a prototype Type-4 engine was fielded utilizing a cab-over truck chassis. This unit was conceived to shorten the overall length of the Type-4 engine without compromising towing ability and body capacities. It also encompassed many new design features such as an all aluminum body, a PTO driven water pump, electronic controlled foam system, and electronically operated valves. Type-7x engines have been built with all aluminum "flat rack" bodies and dual rear wheel chassis have been utilized for some Type-7x engines.

Presently, the LeMay Forestry Center operation consists of engineering and design staff, a metal fabrication/repair section, machine shop, automotive repair, facilities repair, purchasing, warehousing, and clerical section. These sections are manned with highly skilled people knowledgeable in Wisconsin's forest fire control problems and equipment. Specialized fabrication and repair work for all functions of the Forestry Division are performed, with fire control having the highest priority. Research and development of new fire control equipment and production techniques occurs in conjunction with technology exchange with other states and provinces. Workload is managed to best utilize the expertise and capabilities of the Center, balancing in-house fabrication with vendor purchased parts and equipment. The Center now uses 2D and 3D computer aided design and drafting as well as a computer numerical controlled (CNC) milling machine and plasma cutter. The Center also provides service to fire departments by supplying wildfire control equipment through the LeMay warehouse. A cache of fire fighting tools is maintained at Tomahawk for statewide mobile distribution.

Since 1934, the Center has matched changing needs with growing capability. The basic purpose for serving people and their resources remains constant.

Other staff with offices at the LeMay Center includes a forest ranger, forestry technician, conservation warden, forest ecologist/silviculturist, forest tax specialists, forest inventory specialists and forest marketing specialists.