Learn more about prescribed fire common terminology in this helpful resource!

Every prescribed fire plan is a unique recipe of specific and precise conditions that must be in place prior to ignition. Customized for the unique components, conditions, and needs of each individual burn unit, ingredient choice is guided by fuel types and density, soil moisture, topography, aspect, access, infrastructure, natural fire breaks, safety, and project goals.

“Why can’t we just cut it and skip the fire part?” Here’s a quick primer on why partnering with fire instead of banishing it again will always provide better outcomes for nature, society, and the future of both.

The Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest completed the decision for the Salt Cabin Prescribed Burn Project located south of Rustic and Highway 14. This project will improve timber stands by thinning and prescribed burning to reduce natural fuel build-up and hazards.

The goal of this project is to restore the ponderosa pine and mixed conifer stands to a more natural state, including reducing surface and crown fuel loading across the landscape, retaining and encouraging old-growth qualities, and improving wildlife habitat.

Prescribed fires take the hands of many to plan and complete successfully. An “all hands” approach is needed to plan meetings, study forests, create maps, process paperwork, test fuel moisture, analyze weather, measure perimeters, dig fire breaks, and ignite drip torches.  

The moment a prescribed fire is ignited is just the tip of an unseen iceberg of research, partnership, and preparation, stretching back months or years before drip torches are lit.