Prescribed burns are required to sustain the fire-adapted vegetation communities on the natural areas and to reduce onsite fuel loads to prevent the occurrence of catastrophic wildfires. Burning methods used include ignition and containment by ground crews and aerial ignition with containment by ground crews (for larger sites where burn units are more than several hundred acres each).
Staff activities related to the planning and implementation of prescribed burns include:
- Creating and maintaining hundreds of miles of management access areas and firebreaks
- Mechanically reducing fuel heights to reduce fire intensity
- Attending appropriate fire training courses for initial and advanced training
- Coordinating with state, county, and municipal fire agencies and departments
- Providing advance notification to owners of surrounding property and smoke-sensitive entities
- Preparing burn plans
- Conducting each burn during daylight hours within one day
- Conducting post-burn evaluations
- Documenting wildfires and other fire-related incidents
Coastal
