Prescribed burns on National Forest Service lands have been paused for 90 days because of the high possibility of uncontrolled wildfires, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced May 20.
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Randy Moore stated the halt is "because of the current extreme wildfire risk conditions in the field," the USDA announcement reports. Moore said the agency would review "protocols, decision support tools and practices," during the pause to better prepare for operations scheduled for autumn. Most prescribed burns are conducted between September and May, so the 90-day cease shouldn't affect USFS objectives in the interim, according to Moore.
"The review I am announcing today will task representatives from across the wildland fire and research community with conducting the national review and evaluating the prescribed fire program," Moore stated in the report, "from the best available science to on-the-ground implementation. Lessons learned and any resulting program improvements will be in place prior to resuming prescribed burning."
Prescribed burns, also called controlled burns or prescribed fires, is the "controlled application of fire by a team of experts" to burn off highly flammable overgrowth that can fuel a wildfire, according to the USEF. Wildfires are becoming more extreme because of climate change, drought, and the resulting dried vegetation in many areas of the country, the USEF reports.
In-depth analyses of the effects of a prescribed burn on the environment, species and communities in or near the burn area are conducted prior to a prescribed burn, according to the USEF. Authorization procedures for a proposed controlled burn include extensively prepared burn plans, public announcements, weather monitoring and other protocols, the USEF reports.
The USEF manages approximately 4,500 prescribed burns on more than 1,400,000 acres of NFS each year, the agency reports. The burns go to plan 99.84% of the time, according to the USEF.
"In rare circumstances, conditions change," Moore stated in the announcement, "and prescribed burns move outside the planned project area and become wildfires."
Moore stated the main objective of the USEF when conducting prescribed burns or battling a wildfire is to ensure public safety, noting that USEF employees handling the burn operations are members of the local communities.
"The communities we serve," Moore stated, "and our employees deserve the very best tools and science supporting them as we continue to navigate toward reducing the risk of severe wildfires in the future."
