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The Burning Question: To Burn, or Not To Burn?

by Roger W. Tacha, Resource Conservationist
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Colby, Kansas

Prescribed burning of grass in western Kansas obviously has not been a routine practice. Just because fire has not typically been used in the more arid areas does not necessarily mean it is a bad thing.

While the vast majority of western Kansas grass acres (Conservation Reserve Program [CRP] and native grass alike) are not under any sort of requirements for burning, certain CRP acres are required to be burned—this is simply a program requirement that was in place at the time these contracts were developed.

Why? There are sound reasons for periodically burning grass—even in the short-grass prairie. Several producers in western Kansas have realized the effectiveness of prescribed fire as a management tool and are getting pretty good at using it.

So, “To burn, or not to burn?”—Well, if there is a CRP requirement involved, the answer is “to burn.”

But regardless of whether there is a requirement or not, maybe the question should be re-worded: “When to burn, or when not to burn?” Or maybe this: “How to burn, or how not to burn?”

All of these burn/not burn choices are probably best answered by addressing several more questions:

  • Are there any objectives for this fire? What good will come of it? (Well, strong probabilities are stimulating grass plants to thicken up; cleaning up thick duff or residue; reducing annual weedy plants; improving wildlife habitat; and reducing immediate fuel load to reduce wildfire hazard.)
  • When should I do the burn? (time of year, time of day, etc.)
  • If I want to burn or am required to burn an acreage, have I thoroughly identified all the surrounding hazards? Do I have a plan to protect them?
  • What kind of fireguards do I need? (mowing, disking, wet-lines) How wide?
  • Weather is a biggy: What wind direction is best? Wind speed? Where can I get daily and hour-by-hour weather predictions?
  • Same goes for temperature and relative humidity—what is best?
  • What kinds of vegetation fuels am I dealing with, and how will they all react or “behave” with this combination of fire and chosen weather conditions.
  • What about the smoke? I do not want to send it across roads or highways. I do not want to send it toward neighbors’ houses or into town. Should I ask law enforcement to help with traffic safety?
  • When it looks like I’ll have good conditions for the planned burn, will I have all the necessary help and equipment?
  • How many people do I need to pull this off? How many igniters? How many look outs? How many people with water?
  • How many water units? What kind? (slide in water tanks, all-terrain vehicles (ATV’s), crop spray rigs, fire engines)
  • Do I have ample spare water supply?
  • How about extra ignition fuel? (propane, drip torch fuel)
  • What about simple stuff like matches, butane lighters, shovels, fence pliers?
  • Do I have means to communicate with the people helping me? (walkie-talkie radios, cell phones)
  • Do I need to notify anyone before I do this? (sheriff, highway patrol, fire department, neighbors)
  • Is a fire ban in effect?

Anyone planning on doing a prescribed or planned fire needs to be able to answer and address all these items, plus a few others. When that happens, the fire will be as safe as possible.

All the factors from manpower, equipment, proper existing weather conditions, and proper forecasted weather must “gel” at the same time. If any one of these is lacking, the fire is unsafe on that particular day.

All the considerations that go with planning a prescribed burn are common sense details. Prescribed burning does not have to be your enemy.

If you need assistance with a prescribed burn plan or more information on prescribed fire, please contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office or conservation district office located at your local county USDA Service Center.

For more information about NRCS programs, visit the Kansas NRCS Web site at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

This article is also available in Microsoft Word format.

The Burning Question: To Burn or Not to Burn (DOC; 54 KB)

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Last Modified: 12/09/2008