Burn it all down to the ground
Mood:  lazy
Some of you have asked me questions about what exactly is a prescribed burn and why do we do it. Well a prescribed burn is a forest fire started on purpose. We do these burns to cut back on fuel content on the ground as well as improve the forest stand for wildlife by clearing out the briars and getting rid of exotic plants. It can be fun but most often it is a lot of work. By the end of the day you smell like a camp fire and can barely keep your eyes open.

On the last fire we did at Jordan someone had a camera so I thought I would use the photos to walk you through a burn.

Early in the morning we check the fire lines that were prepared ahead of time and clear off any debris that might have fallen. Then the group is formed and we discuss the burn we are about to do and discuss safety which is very important.

Here we all are going over how to run the pumper in case the fire was to get out of control. That is me on the left with the light blue bandana.

Next the drip torches are filled.

Then we light a test fire. This is very important. There are certain burn criteria that we must meet before we can get clearance to burn. Two of those criteria are the direction the fire will run and where will the smoke go.

On the day of the burn the winds were suppose to blow southwest but it often changed when the wind sometimes came up off the lake. The goal was to send the smoke out across to lake to keep it off of roads and away from homes.

Once the test fire is lit it is now time to start the burn and a strip line is started.

The person running the line walks into the woods and tries to walk a straight line until he comes out the other side. After the first person enters the woods a second person waits about 15 minutes or so and then starts another line about 30 ft up from the last line until the area is done.

If the conditions are right the fire should take hold and run quickly. I didn't run line on this fire. My job was to make sure the fire stayed within the fire line.

The tool in my hand is called a flapper. It has a large rubber mat on the end which is use to suffocate the fire. It is used for grassy areas. In the wooded areas we used a tool called a rake. It isn't like the leaf rake you have at home it actually has 4 large sharp teeth on it. It is designed to you can rake dirt over the fire or chop up roots and small limbs to move them out of the way.

Close up of the Flapper

The Rake

It tends to get a bit smoky at times.

Sometimes it can total cover the road which can be bad for drivers. Luckily this isn't a heavily travel road.

Once the fire lines have been run then we patrol the fire lines and look for trees that can possibly fall on the line and spread the fire outside the contained area. If such trees are found then they are cut down. We also check to make sure no vegetation is burring close to the line. Wind can pick up and carry hot ash across the line and start a fire on the other side. This part of the fire process is called mop up work.

Once the mop up is complete you return to the staging area to wait for the burn boss to release you. You then put away your tools and go home.