After years of devastating wildfires, many producers are wondering if prescribed burns might improve their acreage. Here’s how to keep land, livestock, buildings, and selves safe.
“No one’s really gotten prescribed fire off the ground here. A lot of ranchers are afraid of it.” So said Jim Armedariz, a state rangeland specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New Mexico. He’s fixing to change that fearful attitude across his state — and to help producers understand not only how to introduce the practice to their land, but how to do it safely.
Land managers across the U.S. have suppressed fires for the better part of a century, Land managers across the U.S. have suppressed fires for the better part of a century, creating situations that have increased fire’s destructive potential. When Armendariz talks to ranchers around New Mexico, he points out other devastating effects of that suppression: invasive eastern redcedar encroaching on central grasslands, Rocky Mountain juniper taking over the Great Basin and Front Range, creosote bush and mesquite gobbling the desert. This encroachment is displacing the nutritious grasses munched by some of the state’s 2 million cows, goats, and sheep and upping the risk of more destructive wildfires. But as he and other fire specialists shared with Offrange, there are ways for producers to have their fire and the safety of their operations, too.
Though Armendariz believes fire is as “natural to the land as wind and rain and snow and drought and all of the elements we deal with,” he understands why it stokes so much fear in people. In 2022, U.S. Forest Service lost control of two prescribed burns; they merged and eventually sizzled over 340,000 acres to become the biggest fire in New Mexico’s history. Nevertheless, Armendariz considers prescribed fire a potent way to ensure natural fire events are less potentially destructive, and to make land more productive for farmers and ranchers — by revitalizing native grasses and managing troublesome non-native plants. Preparation, however, is key.
It’s also important to note that in some habitats, burns can supplant natives in a process called type conversion. This means that it’s essential to talk with a fire professional like Armendariz to better understand the suitability of fire to your land and its plants. “Of all the tools that we have in our toolbox for managing woody species encroachment [fire is] probably the cheapest one,” Armendariz said — it costs a rancher less than $15 an acre to run a controlled burn, versus $80 an acre for herbicide sprayed by plane, or up to $400 an acre for mechanical removal.
Livestock producers often use prescribed fire to improve rangelands. But the practice has its upsides for farmers, too, who may “burn off their fields to get rid of debris and other residue as a regular part of their annual operations,” said Katie Low, statewide coordinator for the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Fire Network. In some farming communities there’s also a tradition of irrigation ditch burns, which get rid of weeds and dead stuff to improve waterflow.
“No one’s really gotten prescribed fire off the ground here. A lot of ranchers are afraid of it.”
Fire safety starts with hardening the defensible spaces on your property. According to Lou Bean, a wildland fire fighter in Colorado, there are three defensible zones around a house or barn. Up to five feet from a structure is zone one, which can be hardened by cleaning debris from gutters, clearing away leaf litter, replacing flammable mulch with pebbles, and removing trees and shrubs (no matter how much you love them). Zone two, five to 30 feet from a structure, should have grasses mown short, no dead plants, and “ladder” fuels (branches and grasses that carry fire) trimmed away; give the same treatment to infrastructure like wells and propane tanks. Zone three, 30 to 100 feet from a structure, should more generally promote good forest health, Bean said. They also recommended storing firewood at least five feet from any structure. These efforts, they said, are “super, super critical and generally the easiest and cheapest to do.”
More thorough hardening can be done as finances allow, said Low. For example, removing debris from roofs and patching any holes; installing fire-resistant metal flashing when gutters are installed; staple-gunning 1/8” metal mesh over vent openings, which are usually covered with ¼” mesh that keeps out critters but can let embers through. Armendariz recommends replacing wood fences with virtual fencing.
Documents available online can help you understand what’s actually involved in a burn; NRCS, Extension, and state ag departments may also provide information. Many states have prescribed fire councils, which typically offer their own basic training. This can be a great way to gain confidence and expertise, without which, said Bean, “It’s hard to know who to turn to to understand fire behavior.” Some California counties have an additional Livestock Agricultural PASS Program, which may provide some training to producers for when wildfires arrive.
If you are thinking of experimenting with prescribed fire, all three experts recommend building a relationship with your local fire department first. Prior knowledge of your setup can “really help them in a situation where they need to defend your property,” said Low. “But also they can advise on like, ‘Hey, you might want to put a fuel break on this ridge line or increase your defensible space around this thing here.’” (A fuel break is an area that gets cleared of vegetation or other flammable materials to lessen a fire’s ability to jump from one place to another.)
Next comes your burn plan. In it, you describe the area to be burned, your objectives, anticipated weather, the number of people on your crew, what equipment you’ll assemble; NRCS can help you do this right, as well as get it submitted to the right people. “The entire burn is not going to go according to the plan,” Armendariz said. “It’s just a tool so that you’ve thought everything through.”
“Weather is probably the biggest factor that you’ve got to really understand to carry out a prescribed burn.“
A standard burn trailer for prescribed fires, which some fire councils rent out, contains water sprayers that attach to an ATV or a person’s back; multiple radios so your crew can communicate; portable weather kits; drip torches; extra fuel; gas-powered pumps to pull water out of a pond or well; and hand tools for tossing dirt over an errant ember or flame. (Armendariz’s preferred smothering tool is a still-green juniper branch). Low adds well-fitted N95 masks and animal first aid to her list of must-haves; Bean recommends PPE-level leather gloves, all-cotton clothing, and eye protection.
Make sure you are knowledgeable about, and stay up-to-date on, any state and regional laws around burns. For example, said Low, California’s local Air Quality Management Districts have region-specific requirements for agricultural burns and prescribed burns; you’ll also need to contact them for permits.
Working to make your property a controllable environment is an essential next step. “First things first, you’ve got to have good fuel breaks all the way around,” Armendariz said. These can be manmade — existing roads whose abutting vegetation has been hand- or sheep-mowed — or natural, like rivers and streams. When well-maintained will prevent fire from spreading beyond where you intend it to go. Low recommended putting signs on all roads and water resources, so they’re easy to locate for anyone unfamiliar with your property.
Next up: getting a handle on the weather. “Weather is probably the biggest factor that you’ve got to really understand to carry out a prescribed burn; temperature, relative humidity, and wind direction are the three most important ones,” Armendariz said. Also be on the lookout for an inversion layer — that is, a layer of warm over cold air that can trap smoke beneath it; subjecting your neighbors to clouds of low-lying smoke is sure to sour them on your activities. “And don’t pull up your Google weather app; go the extra mile to access the [National Weather Service’s] Fire Weather Dashboard,” Bean advised, which shows a much wider array of useful data, such as dewpoint and the probability of thunder.
“You think everything’s under control and you walk away but that thing is not out until the last smoke is completely out.”
Armendariz relies on his local airport for valuable info. “There’s weather stations at most airports that have been collecting data for 50 years or more, and those are really good resources to know what to expect month to month,” he said. He consults historic weather data to determine the least-windy months. In New Mexico, that’s August and September, which have the added benefit of being followed by October’s wetter, cooler conditions that can prevent fires from smoldering on and on. It’s also important to pick a day with some humidity as very dry air can make it easier for fire to spread.
Pick your burn crew wisely, perhaps from among your neighbors, and be prepared to return the favor. “I think [a burn’s] much more manageable to do as a practice if you’re willing to do it with your community — like branding,” Bean said. And figuring out how to break your burnable area into smaller units allows you to stop when you need to, “if winds pick up or you feel uncertain. It’s easy to bite off more than you can chew,” said Armendariz.
Vigilance is especially critical after a fire. When somebody loses control of a prescribed burn, “It’s hardly ever when you’re doing the actual burn; it usually happens days after,” Armendariz said — although the danger can persist for months in a timber stand. “You think everything’s under control and you walk away but that thing is not out until the last smoke is completely out.” After a burn, plan to check the area twice a day, especially at the hottest time of afternoon between 2pm and 5pm.
Armendariz and Bean hope that more producers will learn to let go of their fear of using fire as a tool on their working lands. “Being afraid is not necessarily a good motivator to do this really important work on our landscape,” said Bean. “The attitude piece is huge.”
