The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry works with other agencies and fire departments to provide wildfire protection for more than 16 million acres of Minnesota forest, administers burning permits, and manages prescribed fire. Its wildfire prevention work includes school fire prevention programs, the Smokey Bear program, and Firewise Minnesota, a community-based program that helps homeowners protect their property from wildfires. The department's origins go back to 1911, when the state legislature established the Minnesota Forest Service and charged it with controlling wildfires; over time, it became increasingly involved in wildfire prevention, public education, and fire suppression. In 1931 the Forest Service came under the Minnesota Department of Conservation, and in 1971 the name changed to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In 1931, before sophisticated fire suppression equipment was available, forest and grass fires were usually fought by men using hand tools, sometimes with back-pack pumps if water was nearby, but more often with long-handled shovels to beat out flames or dig trenches, and forest patrolmen had to provide their own transportation, including a 1923 Model T Ford used to carry pump tanks, shovels, and axes. Over the years, Minnesota's firefighting teams adopted newer technology, from trucks carrying shovels and rakes to fire engines, all-terrain tracked vehicles, fire towers, airplanes, and helicopters. The Minnesota Interagency Fire Center was established to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of fire management through resource sharing, dissemination of firefighting intelligence, and streamlined communication. Local fire departments throughout Crow Wing County are equipped and prepared to work with the Minnesota DNR and other agencies to bring wildfires under control, including the Pequot Lakes Volunteer Fire Department, which has 28 firefighters staffing stations at Pequot Lakes and Breezy Point and maintains two fire engines with 1,000-gallon capacity, three tankers, a wildland fire truck, and rescue vehicles, along with fire departments in Brainerd, Crosby, Crosslake, Cuyuna, Deerwood, Emily, Garrison, Ironton, Mission Township, Nisswa, and the Mille Lacs Band Aategewinini Wildland Fire Crew.