South Monroe Prescribed Fire Update 11/11/2019
November 10, 2019 – prescribed fire managers on the Fishlake National Forest – Richfield Ranger District, received improved clearing from the National Weather Service yesterday. This allowed helitorch ignitions to take place and secure the southwest edge of Unit 6. Ignitions are complete for the time being on the South Monroe Prescribed Fire Project. Interior pockets will continue to burn/clean up over the next few days. An estimated 5,700 acres have been treated this fall near Langdon Mountain. Crews will continue to monitor the project area.
The Fishlake National Forest has been working towards getting some much needed hazardous fuels reduction taken care of and addressed.
Remember, prescribed fire is a planned fire used to meet management objectives. After many years of fire exclusion, an ecosystem that needs periodic fire becomes unhealthy. Trees are stressed by overcrowding; fire-dependent species disappear; and flammable fuels build up and become hazardous. The right fire at the right place at the right time:
- Reduces hazardous fuels, protecting human communities from extreme fires;
- Minimizes the spread of pest insects and disease;
- Removes unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem;
- Provides forage for game;
- Improves habitat for threatened and endangered species;
- Recycles nutrients back to the soil; and
- Promotes the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants;
The Forest Service manages prescribed fires and even some wildfires to benefit natural resources and reduce the risk of unwanted wildfires in the future. The agency also uses hand tools and machines to thin overgrown sites in preparation for the eventual return of fire. More prescribed fires mean fewer extreme wildfires.
Specialists write burn plans for prescribed fires. Burn plans identify – or prescribe – the best conditions under which trees and other plants will burn to get the best results safely. Burn plans consider temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke. Prescribed fire specialists compare conditions on the ground to those outlined in burn plans before deciding whether to burn on a given day. (U.S. Forest Service)
