Planning

Location Details

• Landowner: Property owner of burn unit
• Permit no.: Complete if a permit is required by the state you are conducting a burn
• Address: Address for burn unit [include GPS coordinates, if possible]
• Phone no.: Phone number of the property owner
• S/T/R: Section, Township, and Range of burn unit, if known
• County: County of burn unit
• Acres to burn: Planned number of acres to burn
• Previous burn date: Date of the most recent burn on the burn unit

Purpose of Burn

What is the purpose of the prescribed fire? Examples could include seedbed preparation, disease and insect control, reduction of hazardous fuels, wildlife habitat management, and/or controlling understory. Specify how the fire is expected to behave to meet objectives. This information will also be useful in evaluating the success of a burn.

Attach a Map

Use mapping tools to draw a map or draw the map by hand. The map should identify boundaries of the planned burn, adjacent landowners, topography, firebreaks (both existing and those needing construction), anticipated direction of the smoke plume, smoke-sensitive features, holding details, and other essential information. Natural barriers may be used to control the fire. Areas that should be excluded from the fire should also be displayed.

Stand Description

• Overstory type and size: Describe the overstory type and size
• Height to bottom of crown: Fill in the height to the bottom of the crown
• Understory type & height: Describe the understory and type (grass, shrubs, small trees)
• Dead fuels: Description and amount (grass, timber litter, slash)

Preburn Factors

• Manpower and equipment needs: List equipment and personnel needed onsite during the burn and on standby. Personnel should be assigned duties. Both personnel and equipment can be mapped out.
  Equipment
• List smoke-sensitive areas & locate on map: Identify all smoke sensitive areas (e.g. residences, businesses, farms, airports) near to, downwind, or down drainage to the planned burn.
• Special precautions: Note how sensitive areas will be protected. Smoke management strategies could include avoidance, emissions reduction, and dispersal to minimize adverse impacts.
• Estimated no. hours to complete: Normally prescribed burns are planned so that they are finished during the day. Fires are ignited in the late morning or early afternoon once morning dew evaporates and surface inversions have lifted.
• Passed smoke screening system: Use a smoke screening system such as Hypslit, Simple Smoke Screening Model, or VSmoke to make sure that smoke does not affect sensitive sites.
• Adjacent landowners to notify: Contact all homes and businesses in the area likely to be impacted by the burn.

Weather Factors

This section should include the desired range, forecasted weather, and actual weather, which includes surface winds-speed and direction, transport winds-speed and direction, minimum mixing height, dispersion/stagnation index, minimum relative humidity, maximum temperature, fine-fuel moisture, days since rain and amount. An example of minimum transport wind is 8 miles per hour. An example minimum mixing height is 1640 feet. Preferred fine fuel moisture is between 8–15%.

Fire Behavior

Fire behavior includes a desired range and actual data for the fire type, month burned, flame length, rate of spread, and inches of litter to leave. Consider the burning objective when deciding on fire techniques and the month to burn. Fire techniques can vary in intensity from heading fires (most intense and faster fires), flanking fires (intermediate intensity), and backing fires (lowest intensity and slower fires). Most understory burning is conducted in winter whereas summer burns can be used to kill undesirable hardwoods.

Evaluation: Immediate / Future

An evaluation of the burn should be conducted immediately after the burn and sometime in the future. After the burn record the amount of crown scorch, consumption of brush, litter and duff, evidence of fire intensity, and smoke problems. This information is used to determine if the objectives of the burn were met and to help plan future burns.