fuels-reduction-guide-2023 - Flipbook - Page 14
Burn Plans & Risk Mitigation
Before a prescribed fire is ever lit, a detailed burn plan and smoke
management plan must be completed.
A burn plan, or prescription, includes
comprehensive information about
weather, terrain, fuel moisture and
values at risk. Values are natural
resources, humans and their
developments, and public and political
features, including cultural, that have
inherent significance.
For a burn to be ‘in prescription’,
conditions on the ground must meet the
Ecological Restoration—
California’s wildlands are adapted
to fire, with the exception of some
chaparrel ecosystems that currently
experience more frequent fire than
historically. Putting fire back on the land
helps protect and improve habitat for
wildlife and optimizes soil and water
productivity, and can also help control
or eliminate noxious, invasive plants.
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specifications contained in the burn
plan. Burning when conditions are ‘out
of prescription’ will not meet desired
objectives and can produce undesirable
conditions that may threaten the
identified values and create undue risk.
Prescribed burning is done for different
purposes, and will vary depending on
the project location and landowner
goals. Common objectives are:
Fuels
Reduction—
Community
Protection—
burning is an
efficient solution
for removing
excess fuels across
large landscapes.
fire strategically
used around
communities to
reduce fuels.
