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Author(s):
Dale D. Wade
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Fuels
Fuel Treatments & Effects
Prescribed Fire-use treatments

NRFSN number: 12398
FRAMES RCS number: 16443
Record updated:

Achieving natural resource objectives typically requires the application of periodic fire because fire is truly THE ECOLOGICAL IMPERATIVE! But how does one measure success or failure? Determining how close a fire came to meeting your objective(s) is a difficult but crucial part of every burn evaluation and is not always immediately obvious. As John Bethea used to say 'You can no more get to where you don't know where you're going than you can get to where you think you are from when you don't know where you've been.' To be successful, you need to know when to use fire and what dosage to apply. If your lands are aesthetically unpleasing and appear rough and overgrown, remember that it takes years, maybe decades, of fire exclusion for a plant community to reach this condition, so one can't expect to rectify all problems with one or two burns. And be forewarned: Fire is a two-edged sword that can make matters worse if incorrectly applied. One should thus have an idea of the appropriate fire regime necessary to meet management goals before proceeding, and be prepared to apply fire several times before the rewards become visually clear.

Citation

Wade, Dale D. 2013. Fire intensity and fire severity: how hot is your fire and why is that important? Joint Fire Science Program; Southern Fire Exchange Fact Sheet 2013-4. 5 p.

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