When Your Job is in the Line of Fire . . . Understanding the process behind prescribed burns

by Sally Jack
Contributing writer
If Mark Atwood could have three wishes, one of them might be to have the opportunity to educate the public about the role prescribed burns play in keeping our forests healthy.
Fire can go through and clean the forest floor, creating better habitat for animals, and making it resistant to wildfire, or fire can go through and destroy habitat, watersheds, campgrounds, and such.
“I wish the general public could understand that fire has good purpose and use, not just destructive outcomes,” he commented.
Mark, whose skill set is in fire behavior, modeling and sciences observes that one of the biggest challenges in the fire industry is the public perception and tolerance of smoke associated with prescribed burns.
“It scares people,” says Mark. “All you hear are these horror stories about ‘fires getting away,’ or ‘the wildfires are going to burn up my house.’
“It is an understandable fear, but there is a lot of information that the public isn’t aware of. Often they don’t understand what is going on, and I wish there was a better way to educate the public and the community.
“I would love to load up buses and vans and take people out there when the firefighters are putting the fire on the ground, and let them see how safe this really is and how much good it is actually doing.
“I wish they could see how controlled it really is. And it’s NOT scary.
“You think you’re going to see the whole forest on fire and your breath is going to be taken away, when in reality there is a prescription and a plan.
“When you go to the doctor you get prescription drugs for a certain thing. When we do a prescribed fire, there’s a prescription that says, this temperature, this kind of fuel moisture, this many resources (engines, people, qualifications), this much wind, etc.
“All of these things are calculated. A very high percentage of our prescribed burns are highly successful.”
While people can and do start wildfires with irresponsible campfires, sparks from dragging chains, fireworks, or even arson, Mark estimates that the majority of the fires he has worked on during his 25-year career were caused by lightning.
When a fire starts through natural ignition, such as a lightning strike, it can be called a good fire if the situation is right and the fire behavior is meeting resource objectives… meaning the fire is doing exactly what Mother Nature needs it to do for the benefit of the birds, deer, elk, and other animals, and the plants and other natural elements.
Fire suppression can stop the natural renewal of the life cycle. Getting rid of old dead grasses and vegetation so that the new can grow is beneficial.
On the other hand, human-caused fires need to be suppressed because there is not a plan or prescription for that type of fire. We have many things that need to be protected: cabins, campgrounds, watersheds, power lines, roads, etc.
When fires start, whether through natural ignition or human-caused, and there is not a plan or prescription for it, it is often necessary to put them out to keep things safe.
There is definitely a time and place for prescribed fires. Forested areas that are in need of cleaning up and rejuvenating can benefit from just the right prescription.
Mark’s wife Janiece observed: “There are healthy and unhealthy forests. I’ve been on so many drives with Mark where he points out the difference, that now I can also spot them.
“We point out, ‘That’s a healthy forest, or that forest doesn’t look so good.’ Our family has gained our own education from his job.”
“Right now there are various parts of our own mountain where there is so much deadfall, undergrowth, and things that animals can’t even move through some of that thick stuff. People can’t hike through there either.”
When it gets that way, it needs to be cleaned up.
The U.S. Forest Service explains, “Prescribed burning is a proactive tool used to reduce hazardous fuels, which decreases the threat of high intensity, high-severity wildfires.
“It also reduces the risk of insect and disease outbreak, recycles nutrients that increase soil productivity, improves wildlife habitat, and supports aspen restoration.”
The specific goal of the local Shingle Mill burn area is “to improve vegetation and watershed conditions related to soils and ground cover, improve forage production for big game (mule deer and elk) and to reduce the continuity of vegetative fuels associated with fire hazard in this high-use area.”
Janiece said, “They do as much public education as they can about what they do and what’s going on. There are always naysayers, but it’s beautiful where they burned, so you can now see the purpose behind that.”