Managing a Burn
Below are two excellent resources available that cover the entire prescribed fire process, from planning to implementation of your burn and more. Utilizing these resources with the others provided in the Resource section of this website will provide a holistic picture of prescribed fire. However, nothing compares to getting out on an actual prescribed burn and getting first-hand experience. Get a hold of your local PBA for potential upcoming opportunities.
Prescribed Fire Basics Modules
The Prescribed Fire Basics Modules from Oregon State University Extension covers everything from fire behavior and fire weather to managing a prescribed burn. You can check out the entire series here. For implementing your burn, the Managing a Prescribed Burn and Safety modules are particularly pertinent.
Guidebook for Burning in the Southern Region
The Guidebook for Burning in the Southern Region was written with Southern states in mind, but provides valuable information about the entire prescribed fire process from planning, conducting your burn, and completing post-burn evaluation that is relevant for a land owner or prescribed fire practitioner anywhere. The beginning of the Guidebook includes a general timeline that is particularly useful to understanding the overall picture of prescribed fire.
Pre-Burn
With a burn plan and a permit in hand, you will need to ensure you’ve completed all your unit prep, identified the people and equipment you will have on site to safely manage your burn, and be watching the weather to know when conditions are lining up for a good burn day that will meet your objectives.
Coming up to and on the day of the burn, there are a few more considerations.
Notifications
Your burn permit and burn plan will outline any notifications that you are required to make and when they should be completed. You may also want go beyond these requirements, and notify others within your community to ensure. See the Outreach and Public Communications resource on this website for more ideas.
Go/No-Go Checklist
It is good practice to verify you’ve completed all necessary tasks and have met all requirements before you begin your burn. Oregon State University has a good template to utilize as a Go/No-Go Checklist to help aid in this process.
Ignition Techniques and Tools
Understanding the types of tools that are utilized during a prescribed burn, as well as the different techniques that can be employed to meet your objectives, is critical to conducting a successful prescribed burn.
- Ignition Techniques and Tools (Prescribed Fire Basics Module, Oregon State University Extension)
- Ignition Devices for Prescribed Burning (Southern Fire Exchange)
- Flame Descriptors (Southern Fire Exchange)
After Action Review
An After Action Review or AAR is a useful tool to cap off the completion of your prescribed burn and capture valuable lessons learned throughout the day. The intention of an AAR is not to point fingers or assign blame; rather an AAR should be an open, honest discussion that focuses on safety, a learning mindset, an improvement for future burns.
While there are many different ways to run your AAR, a simple version could address the following questions:
- What was the plan? What actually happened and why?
- What went well?
- How do we improve for next time?
