Prescribed Fire

Management Tool that Benefits Plants, Wildlife, and People

In California and Nevada, we love our forests. These diverse ecosystems are the setting for a variety of recreational activities and provide the backdrop for our communities. But, while it may not always be evident, the health of our forests is threatened.

Currently, parts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest are susceptible to insect infestations, disease, and wildfire. It is because of our desire to improve the health of our forests that the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest uses prescribed fire as a tool to accomplish various land management goals.

Prescribed fire (also known as a prescribed burn) is the use of carefully planned fire purposefully set under stringent conditions to control the fire’s effects. Prescribed fire is one way land managers can meet plant and wildlife habitat management goals, while also reducing the threat of property damage from severe wildfires.

“Much like a doctor prescribes vitamins to a patient, the U.S. Forest Service sometimes use prescribed fire to improve the health of our local forests,” said Vegetation Management Specialist Duncan Leao.

 

2023/2024 Prescribed Burn Information

• Bridgeport and Carson Ranger District

  • For information on pile burning activities, please contact Fuels Specialist Steve Howell at 775-884-8114.

• Ely Ranger District

  • For information on pile burning activities, please contact District Ranger Jose Noriega at 775-289-0176 or Central Zone Fuels Specialist Lisa Kemper at 775-289-512.

• Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge Ranger District

  • For information about pile burning activities, please contact the District Fire Management Officer Joe Powell at joseph.powell@usda.gov/775-778-6121 or Acting District Fuels Specialist Aryn Hayden at aryn.hayden@usda.gov/775-296-1107.

• Spring Mountains National Recreation Area

  • For information on pile burning activities, please contact Fire Management Officer Ray Dombroski at 702-515-5422.

The public can get prescribed burn updates by visiting the Forest’s Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HumboldtToiyabeNF/) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/HumboldtToiyabe) pages.

 

Interactive Prescribed Fire ArcGIS StoryMap

Interactive ArcGIS StoryMap that is dedicated to all things prescribed fire! 

Learn more about....

• the benefits of prescribed fire;
• the process that takes place prior to ignition;
• how smoke and air quality is monitored; and 
• different tools of the trade.

Also listen to an interview with a Fuels Technician and see many photos and videos on how prescribed fire is being used across the Forest!

 

Benefits

In the Great Basin, plants and animals have lived with fire as a natural part of the ecosystem for thousands of years. Small lightning-caused fires moved through forests, burning along the ground, thinning out smaller trees and brush, consuming accumulated needles, and leaving behind nutrient-rich ash that stimulated the growth of new vegetation including grasses and wildflowers. This continuous cycle of fire and regeneration persisted on forests until civilization began to encroach upon them.

During much of the 20th century, intense fire suppression and prevention activities decreased the frequency of wildfires. According to Leao, this brought about changes in forest ecosystems. “Understory brush and trees became denser and both live and dead vegetation accumulated, increasing the risk of large and damaging wildfires,” said Leao. “Also, native plants and animals started disappearing due to lack of food, habitat, and other conditions needed for them to exist.”

In the last 40 to 50 years, these changes in California and Nevada forests have prompted land managers to return to utilizing fire as a tool. Under carefully controlled conditions of prescribed fire, many of the ecological benefits of natural fires can be realized.”

Prescribed burns are low-intensity fires designed to clear dead and accumulated underbrush and small trees without killing the mature trees. It is important to reduce the understory under controlled circumstances because if it becomes too thick and then ignites during a wildfire, it helps the fire spread to the canopy, killing the trees. On a large scale, canopy fires can become catastrophic, requiring centuries for the forest to recover.

Another benefit resulting from prescribed fire is a reduction in fire danger for our communities. Areas treated with prescribed fire are less likely to burn intensely during a wildfire and allow them to be brought under control more easily.

Prescribed fire also produces many positive benefits for wildlife. It replenishes soil nutrients, stimulating new growth and creating rich forage for wildlife. The lack of fire has caused some forest stands to become very dense, which can crowd out important wildlife habitats such as bitterbrush, mountain mahogany, aspen, and willow.

These habitat types provide valuable forage and cover for a variety of wildlife species including elk and mule deer. Wildlife Biologist Kris Boatner confirms that “the absence of frequent low intensity fires on the landscape has caused a decline in forage quantity and quality in many areas on the Forest.”

Additionally, prescribed fire helps control invasive plant species and create some snags, or standing dead trees. Snags are a vital part of a healthy and diverse forest landscape. Many birds and other animals build nests and homes in the cavities of these dead trees. Snags also host insect larvae, which feed on the rotting wood. These larvae in turn become food for woodpeckers, bears, and many other animals.

 

Types of Prescribed Fire

Three main types of prescribed fire applications that the Forest Service uses are pile burning, understory/underburning, and broadcast burning. Fuels Specialist Steve Howell stressed that coordination with other forests, local fire officials, private land owners, and county, state and federal agencies is a top priority for the Forest when planning any of these types of prescribed fires.

The burning of cut and stacked vegetation is referred to as pile burning. It is usually performed after an area of underbrush and small trees has been thinned. Piles are generally burned during the wet season to reduce damage to the remaining trees and to confine the fire to the footprint of the pile. Pile burning allows time for the vegetative material to dry out and will produce less overall smoke by burning hot and clean.   

Understory/underburning focuses on burning surface fuels like overgrown shrubs under the forest canopy. This type of prescribed fire is generally used following a pre-treatment such as thinning and/or pile burning to further reduce the understory, help maintain the desired vegetation conditions, and enhance the overall health and resiliency of the forest stand.

During broadcast burns, fire is ignited in areas with little or no forest canopy present. Broadcast burning is used in grasslands and shrublands for habitat restoration and fuels reduction purposes. This type of burning can be beneficial for protecting and enhancing sage-grouse habitat and winter ranges for elk and mule deer.

 

Burning Factors

Prescribed burning is highly dependent on weather conditions. Conditions have to be within a narrow criteria window in order to use prescribed fire. Wind speed and direction, temperatures, relative humidity, and fuel moisture are all taken into consideration. Fall and spring weather provides the best conditions for most prescribed burns: moist soil, dry materials, and cooler temperatures. Ignition patterns will be adjusted to effectively meet the desired outcome and make fire control easier.

Also, fire crews will divide large landscape burns into blocks of land during multiple-day ignitions. This allows them to stop ignitions within those areas if anything is “out of prescription,” like wind pattern. Crews can start again when conditions are once more acceptable.

“A great deal of work goes into planning prescribed burns,” said Howell. “A burn plan is created, which includes smoke management details, fire control measures, acceptable weather parameters, and equipment and personnel needs. The plan also describes in detail how the ecosystem will benefit from fire.”

 

Mitigation

While prescribed fire has proven to be successful in improving forest health and reducing the danger of wildfires, there is a side effect: smoke.

“Air quality considerations are an integral part of prescribed fire, and each fire prescription is formulated to disperse smoke rapidly and reduce lingering haze,” said Howell. “Before each prescribed fire is ignited, the Forest will get approval from the local air quality district in which the burn is to take place.”

“A current weather report and a smoke forecast are obtained in order to ensure that weather and smoke conditions are conducive to a safe burn. It is the goal of the Forest Service to minimize smoke impacts to communities while still accomplishing the Forest’s health and fuels reduction goals,” emphasized Howell. “The Forest will stop prescribed burning if air quality is being adversely impacted to reduce residual smoke,” he added.

 

Future Role

Today, land managers understand the importance of fire in our forests, and the Forest Service’s utilization of prescribed fire is the result of that understanding. It is a method that represents just one of the many tools used by land managers. The overall goal of prescribed fires is to improve the health of our forests and reduce the threat of wildfire to our communities.

Our forests need fire, and by planning and striving to implement high quality fire prescriptions, we can maximize the chance that these fires will burn on our terms.