A Look Into Wildfire

Wildland fires are fires that occur in undeveloped areas including public forests and rangelands, woodlots, and private timberlands. Wildland fires can be further categorized as wanted and unwanted.

Wanted wildfires (known as Wild Land Fire Use and prescribed fires) are managed for resource benefit and designed to achieve specific objectives. These objectives include reducing wildfire risk, preparing sites for replanting, thinning, recycling nutrients, reducing pathogens, and improving forage.

Wild Land Fire Use is a naturally ignited wildland fire. Lightening is one of nature’s igniting tools and helps create diversity among vegetation and wildlife habitats. Wildland fire Use is managed in predefined geographic areas and will provide benefits until extinguished by rain or snow storms.

Prescribed fires play a crucial role in the life-cycles of fire-dependent range and forest lands. Generally, they ­are low intensity. They are applied by trained experts to clear away dangerous fuels such as dead wood and brush. Wind speed and direction, current and forecast weather conditions all need to be taken into account when planning a prescribed fire. There are three ways to start a prescribed fire. Crews either use a hand-carried device that pours out a small stream of burning fuel; a gelled fuel torch dropped by helicopters; or a sphere dispenser machine that drops material.

Back to Environment Main Page