Prescribed Burning

Fire exclusion and past management have altered the composition, structure, and function of frequent-fire forests throughout western North America. In mixed-conifer forests of the California Sierra Nevada, fire exclusion has exacerbated the effects of drought and endemic bark beetles, resulting in extensive mortality of fire-adapted pine species.

State, federal, tribal, and local government and non-profit partners in Washington have identified that prescribed fire – fire set by trained practitioners, under specific fuel, weather, and topographic conditions to simulate natural processes – is a necessary tool to improve the health of Washington’s forest lands and natural habitats for plants and animals, as well as a tool to reduce the ris

Prescribed fire is a useful tool for building resilient landscapes in fire-prone areas across the globe. In the western U.S., prescribed fire is employed by federal, state, and Tribal land managers and planned during particular meteorological and air quality conditions to manage air quality impacts.