Why Use Prescribed Fire?

Whatever you call it - controlled burning, prescribed fire, cultural fire, or good fire - the intentional use of fire is safe and provides numerous benefits

(By the Central Coast PBA)

North America was and is a continent shaped by fire. The land evolved with lightning-caused fire for eons and 15,000+ years of frequent Native American cultural burning. Indigenous Tribes burned, and still burn, for many reasons including basketry materials, ceremony garments, healthy wildlife, clear pathways, fresh berries and bug-free acorns. These frequent, low intensity fires sculpted the bountiful "wilderness" colonizers first experienced and that we now know today. As the historic book "Forgotten Fires" outlines, North America burned at a low intensity more often and completely than we can possibly imagine in our limited fire-drought awareness.

The cover of a book titled 'Forgotten Fires: Native Americans and the Transient Wilderness' by Omer C. Stewart, featuring a black and white photo of a Native American woman in traditional clothing, kneeling on the grass, tending a small fire in an open field.

Fire renews the land like water cleanses the body. Appropriately timed burning is an act of ecological restoration for native plants and wildlife (with exceptions, like some desert ecologies). This restoration adds nutrients, stimulates fresh growth, encourages rare blooms and makes room for seedlings. Many plant communities need good fire to persist.

Grassland area on fire with visible flames and smoke.

Giant Sequoia seedlings that benefit from fire.

Sequoias rely on fire to clear away duff and leaf litter in order to germinate, as well as open up canopy gaps allowing sunlight to reach the forest floor and reduce wildfire intensity.

A few of the many species and systems that benefit are:

A forest trail with smoke and flames on the left side caused by a fire among the trees.

Oak woodlands that otherwise would be shaded out by competition.

Oak woodlands host high annual forb and grass diversity that is made possible by frequent low-intensity fires. Oaks also benefit when fires clear out coniferous species that might otherwise shade them out.

Close-up of small green plants growing on charred forest floor after wildfire, with larger burned trees in the background.
A firefighter in yellow protective gear and a helmet is using a tool to control a grass fire in a field with dry grass and shrubs, with flames and smoke in the background.

Long-leaf pines benefit from fire at many stages of their growth.

Long-leaf Yellow pine benefits from low-intensity fires to open up space for germination, as well as keeping brush down that might otherwise create ladder fuels into the canopy.

A wildfire burning in a grassy field with trees and mountains in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

Prairies and rangeland that get invaded by brush and trees.

Prairies and grasslands benefit from fire that reduces brush encroachment and stimulates new growth. Fire can improve forage and hunting access in these systems as well, as grasses are stimulated and more open areas attract wildlife.

Low intensity, planned fire, after manual or mechanical dead wood and small vegetation removal, is one of the most effective ways to make communities more resilient to unplanned wildfires.

By burning wooded or brushy vegetation systems at frequent but low intensity, wildfire has little purchase on both human and plant communities.

A firefighter wearing a yellow jacket and a helmet is using a flame thrower to control a wildfire burning through a forest.

Good examples of prescribed fire mitigating wildfires include:

The Washburn fire and the community of Wawona, near Yosemite National Park

The left panel shows fire behavior in areas not treated with prescribed fire, while the right panel shows areas that burned under managed conditions prior to the wildfire event. Pre-wildfire burning was credited with helping to save many old-growth groves of Giant Sequoia.

Comparison of two forest fires: the left side shows a wildfire with tall trees and flames at the forest floor, smoke rising, and some trees partially burned; the right side shows another wildfire with a firefighter in protective gear spraying water on the flames among trees, smoke billowing, and a forested landscape.
An aerial view of a landscape divided by a dirt road, with trees on both sides. The left side has green and yellow foliage, while the right side shows blackened, burnt trees.

The Bootleg Fire and the Sycan Marsh in Oregon

The left half of the photo shows timber stands treated with prescribed fire, while the right half of the photo shows forests that lacked prescribed fire prior to the wildfire.

With correct seasonality and fire return intervals prescribed fire is a useful tool in controlling non-native invasive species.

Some non-native invasive species vulnerable to fire include:

Close-up of a yellow flower with long, thin petals on a green stem with spiny bracts, set against blurred green background.

Yellow Star Thistle

A person in a yellow jacket and backpack walking through dry grass in a field, approaching a wildfire with tall flames and black smoke, with trees in the background.
Close-up of green grass or plant blades with thin, elongated leaves against a dark background.

Medusahead Grass

Illustration of a green leafy plant with yellow flowers against a black background.

French Broom

Prescribed fire is scalable. Whether it’s two acres, two hundred, or two thousand, given the right conditions and enough resources fire can be applied to the landscape in a judicious way.

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