What is a prescribed burn?
A prescribed burn, also known as a controlled burn, is a fire that is intentionally set under pre-determined conditions in order to achieve specific objectives. Objectives of a prescribed burn may include lowering the risk of wildfire by reducing fuel build-up, restoring ecosystem functions, controlling of invasive species, or training fire personnel.
Are prescribed burns the same as cultural burns?
No. While the objectives of prescribed burns can be shared by cultural burns, they are not the same. Cultural burns are administered by Tribes and/or Native peoples. While both types of burns are intentional and have overlap in terms of their objectives, cultural burns carry sovereign value and belong to the First Peoples administering them. Fire has long been a tool of the Pomo, Coast Miwok, and Wappo peoples, and Sonoma County and its incredible biodiversity evolved as a direct result of this relationship.
Why does LandPaths burn at its preserves?
LandPaths’ network of seven nature preserves in Sonoma County contains a variety of vegetation types from redwood forest to oak savannah. Consequently, our prescribed burn objectives vary by preserve and by season. In general, our objectives include fire fuel reduction, reduction of invasive species, restoring native plant communities, raising awareness of the beneficial role of fire in the landscape, and training a new generation of fire practitioners.
What are the benefits of prescribed fire?
Most of California’s habitat types evolved with fire—whether sparked from lightning or intentionally set by Indigenous people; fire plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem health. Fire returns nutrients to the soil, stimulates plant growth and seed germination, and helps sustain a mosaic of biologically diverse plant communities. Prescribed burning can reduce the build-up of thatch and woody debris in grasslands or forests, thus reducing the risk and intensity of wildfires. Prescribed fires are also used to reduce invasive species such as yellow star thistle on the landscape.
Why can’t we simply reduce fuels manually, without fire?
LandPaths employs a range of forest thinning methods using hand-tools, chainsaws, and other equipment. It is important to recognize that even after forest thinning, however, woody debris (and therefore fire risk) remains on site. One of the most effective tools for maintaining forest health is to combine prescribed burning with these other methods to maximize fuel reduction. In addition, prescribed fire has unique effects on ecosystems and most of those effects can’t be achieved without fire.
Isn’t fire dangerous?
The safety of people and property is the number one priority of every prescribed burn. Burns must comply with permits from CAL FIRE and local air districts. Prescribed burns are carefully planned and must meet strict criteria for ecological benefit, weather parameters, smoke management, and fire safety. During a burn, personnel on site strictly monitor fire behavior and take continuous readings of wind, relative humidity, and temperature to make sure the fire remains “in prescription.” If conditions change, a burn may be cancelled, shortened, or otherwise modified at the last minute. Once a prescribed burn is completed, the crew remains on site, sometimes for days, to secure the site and prevent flare-ups of smoldering material.
What about animals? How do they react to prescribed burning?
A typical prescribed burn is “low and slow,” meaning the fire moves slowly along the ground without large flame lengths. These controlled conditions mean many animals can escape the fire by moving to a new location, going underground, or flying away. Most wildlife make themselves scarce during a fire and re-emerge after the danger has passed. Prescribed fire can benefit animal species by regenerating food sources and providing a diversity of habitat types. There are even some species that actually follow fire to reap the benefits of the bounty it can yield.
Do prescribed burns ever go wrong?
Very rarely. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that of the 4,000-5,000 prescribed burns completed annually by federal land management agencies, approximately 99.8% are successfully contained within the predetermined burn area. After a burn is over, personnel remain on site to ensure all flames are extinguished, a process called “securement.” If conditions shift during the burn (such as the wind picking up), fire managers may extinguish the flames to remain “in prescription.” In rare circumstances, a prescribed fire can move outside of the planned burn area, resulting in an escape. Escapes are often extinguished by personnel on site without incident. In the event of an escape that gets out of control, the burn is turned over to local firefighting authorities to be managed as a wildfire.
What about air quality?
Projects are planned under permits from air districts, and part of that process includes evaluation of weather and atmospheric conditions to minimize smoke impacts to surrounding communities. We look for conditions where the smoke will rise and disperse, rather than sit low in valleys near homes. But conditions can change and smoke can impact our neighbors. Below are some things you can do to reduce your exposure:
- The Watch Duty app now has prescribed burn information. Using Watch Duty will alert you to the possibility of smoke moving in from far away. Smoke from prescribed burning in other parts of the state or the west can have far-reaching effects.
- Know when prescribed fires are happening in your area – outreach is conducted through social media, email newsletters, and press releases.
- Use an air filter at home; wear a mask when outdoors
- Plan ahead to be outside less or decrease your physical activity if local air quality is poor.