Prescribed Fire & Pile Burning on the Nebraska NF&G

Prescribed Fire

The USDA Forest Service has recently completed a 90-day nationwide operational pause and program review of protocols, decision support tools and practices related to the implementation of prescribed fire.  This pause has allowed us time to identify and immediately implement program improvements to ensure firefighters have the resources, tools and support needed to safely carry out this important work.  The lessons we’ve learned, driven by the best science in the world, will be implemented before we resume our prescribed fire program.

This fall, Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands fire managers will once again begin to look at weather and fuel conditions for prescribed burning.

Fuels specialists write burn plans for prescribed fires. Burn plans identify – or prescribe – the best conditions under which trees and other plants will burn to get the best results safely. The 21 required elements found in a burn plan consider temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, conditions for the dispersal of smoke, and personnel & equipment requirements for safe implementation. Fuels specialists compare conditions on the ground to those outlined in burn plans before deciding whether to burn on a given day.

Firefighters burn to reduce the severity and intensity of wildfires by reducing hazardous fuels that feed wildfires. Burning improves overall forest health by recycling carbon and nutrients into the soil and controlling forest insects. It also increases forage for wildlife, like grass and bushes, and improves conditions for better wildlife habitat.

Every effort is made to minimize smoke impacts, but you may smell in the early morning and evenings; smoke columns are usually visible in the afternoon.  Communication and coordination occur with the interagency partners prior to every burn, including pile burning.  The smoke is temporary, and every effort is made to not exceed air quality limits set state agencies.  Additionally, Burn Bosses communicate with the National Weather Service throughout the ignition and mop-up phase to monitor conditions.

Firefighter and public safety is the first priority in every fire management activity.

For current prescribed fire information, sign-up and follow by e-mail, twitter or RSS/Atom feed at http://gpfireinfo.blogspot.com/.

 

Pile Burning

Districts across the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands burn thousands of hand and machine slash piles every year. Piles are created from timber sale slash and tree thinning operations.

It is important to reduce fire and insect hazards by reducing fuel buildup which makes fire suppression operations safer during the summer months. 

Smoke may be visible and impact local communities across the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands during the fall, winter and spring as conditions permit. Smoldering material may continue to burn days after burning operations are completed. Firefighters continually monitor and check the piles for several days after they have been lit.

Note: Burn Permits on private land are issued by the State of Nebraska.

For more pile burning information and notifications, follow the Great Plains Fire Information page: http://gpfireinfo.blogspot.com/, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NebraskaForestsGrasslands and/or Twitter: https://twitter.com/USFSNebraska