Across much of California, fire is as natural and necessary as rain, snow, and sunshine. California’s landscapes and people have evolved with fire over millennia, and fire has, in one way or another, shaped most of the places that Californians know and love. However, many parts of the state are out of balance with fire, either suffering from fires that are too severe or withering in the absence of needed fire. The intentional use of fire can restore natural process and function, bringing balance back to the landscapes that so desperately need it.
Prescribed fire is the intentional, planned use of fire under specific conditions to meet predetermined objectives. Prescribed fire includes both broadcast burning, where fire mimics natural fire and burns across the landscape, as well as pile burning, where fire is contained to pile locations. Prescribed fire objectives vary widely across different landscapes and communities, ranging from ecological to cultural and everything in between. In California, you may see the term “beneficial fire” and wonder how it relates to prescribed fire. Beneficial fire is an umbrella term that encompasses three related but distinct uses of fire: prescribed fire, cultural fire, and managed wildfire. Use the resources below to learn more about prescribed fire in California and to plan your next burn.
History of Prescribed Fire in California
In California and beyond, prescribed fire is increasingly recognized as one of the most cost-effective and ecologically appropriate tools for restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes, habitats, and communities. Likewise, cultural fire is vital to the stewardship, lifeways, and traditions of Indigenous Californians. However, until recent years, private landowners, contractors, cultural practitioners, and non-governmental organizations faced a host of significant barriers to both prescribed fire and cultural burning. Now, community action and recent policies have empowered the use of beneficial fire.
Why Burn?
The reasons for prescribed burning in California are as diverse as the state’s ecosystems and people. While catastrophic wildfires have focused attention on prescribed fire for fuels reduction and wildfire prevention, there are many other ecological and cultural objectives for using prescribed fire.
Develop Your Prescription
Understanding how weather conditions impact the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of your burn and selecting suitable burn windows are essential elements to conducting successful broadcast burns. One element of a broadcast burn is developing a prescription, or a set of specific weather parameters under which you plan to safely and effectively conduct a burn.
Learn how to develop a prescription for your broadcast burn here.
Resources for Broadcast Burning
In California, there are many resources available to support prescribed fire planning, implementation, and training. The resources available to you will depend on where you are in the state; although some are statewide, many prescribed fire resources are organized at the local level and vary by location.
Resources for Pile Burning
Pile burning is an affordable and effective way to dispose of brush and woody vegetation around your house. Learning how to construct and prepare burn piles takes skill, good equipment, and an understanding of the current and predicted weather to minimize the risk of escape.