Welcome slide. Beyond the Flapper: The Nuts & Bolts of Planning Prescribed Fire

Transcription

1 Beyond the Flapper: The Nuts & Bolts of Planning Prescribed Fire Welcome slide 2012 Tri-State Forestry Conference Ryan N. Harr, Assistant Scientist II Iowa State University NREM

2 Review: Prescribed Fire Prescribed fire is an action that is planned and implemented to accomplish specific management goals within pre-determined criteria and conditions Recall: a wildfire is a fire that is unwanted from a human point of view Why use prescribed fire as a tool in the first place? A natural (perhaps necessary?) process in nearly every ecosystem on earth Many flora and associated ecosystem processes require fire to regenerate May be most cost-effective practice for land management goals Remove/Reduce fuel loads for wildfire prevention/suppression

3 Review: Prescribed Fire Before you strike a match, know what you re getting into! Know the risks, benefits, legalese before using it cause once it s going it s too late. A prescribed burn plan demonstrates that you ve put some thought into your action

4 Review: Prescribed Fire We encourage landowners to consider prescribed fire as a management tool on your property What do you folks burn? Who knows where they live?

5 Brown and Smith Wildland fire in ecosystem: effects of fire on flora. Gen. Tech. rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 2 40, USDA, Forest Service

6 Why not?

7 Decision Making in Fire Management How do practitioners prepare for suppression, or decide whether or not to conduct an Rx burn? Several tools to help inform their decision making Tools are vital & helpful, but not to be solely relied upon all models are wrong, but some are useful Experience and knowledge of local burning conditions and history is vital

8 Decision Making in Fire Management What might be some experience or knowledge of local conditions that might be important to a practitioner? Weather patterns Local vegetation development Time of day, season, year (and annual variations in each!) Site history Fire return interval, insect/disease infestation, harvests Others?

9 What makes one day better than another?

10 Rx Fire Weather Relative Humidity (RH) probably the critical factor on whether fuel will be available to burn Very important for lag time 1 hour fuels = grass, leaves, sticks 10 hour = bigger sticks 100 hour = small logs 1000 hour = big logs

11 Rx Fire Weather Relative Humidity (RH) Raises/lowers moisture of extinction (MOE) Probability of Ignition (PIG) As a general rule, once RH is 40% or less, PIG is very high Below 30% means PIG is practically 100

12 Rx Fire Weather Some good rules of thumb: For burning grass, 40-50% RH is best for most landowners At 30%, grass fuels become very difficult to manage, require many more people & equipment Hardwood timber litter may require lower RH (30s) to be effective, but PIG still applies Also consider the recent soil/fuel moisture, as well-cured fuels burn will burn with higher RH!

13 Rx Fire Weather Wind speed and direction are critical parts of a burn plan Local winds Influenced by topography, sheltering Can be different than mean wind direction Temperature can play a role General/Transport winds important for smoke

14 Rx Fire Weather Considerations when planning for wind: Sustained direction for entire burn period Avoid low wind days (3 mph or less, light & variable) For grass fuels, NEVER burn with over 20 mph sustained wind; optimal 6-12 Do not burn within 24 hours of a frontal passage, as winds will become more erratic (counterclockwise flow) In timber (hardwood litter), sheltering effect reduces windspeed by a factor of 0.1, requiring higher winds for effective fire movement

15 Rx Fire Weather Temperature Sky cover Mixing height & dispersion Haines Index Red Flag warning = DO NOT BURN! Understand how weather factors contribute to Fire Danger Where can I go for fire weather information?

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22 Rx Fire Weather Know your property and how local factors effect weather (valleys, wind movement patterns, chutes & funnels) Understand your limits weather will take its toll on you & your crew

23 National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) Fire Danger Ratings Low (Green) = Fuels do not readily ignite, little danger if spotting Moderate (Blue) = Fire can start from accidental causes, but not likley; moderate fire intensity, wind can enhance danger High (Yellow) = All fine dead fuels ignite readily, fires start easily. Unattended fires likely escape, spotting and fire intensity greater Very High (Orange) = Fires start easily from any cause, spread rapidly, very intense Extreme (Red) = Fires start quickly, spread furiously, burn intensely; all fires are potentially serious. Direct attack likely impossible.

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26 National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) Situation Update Synopsis: The Statewide Planning Level is 4. No fires were reported. Precip was received over most of MN with amounts ranging from 0.12 inch at Carlos Avery to 1.27 inches at Wannaska. Hibbing Taconite will be blasting from 10:30 to 11:30 today. North Shore Mining will be blasting today from 9:00 to 11:00 today. Most areas are staffing with a regular to full complement of personnel. Each area is to have at least one engine staffed and ready for heavier initial attack. There is A Type I Incident Management Team (IC Turman) from Montana, more than 500 overhead personnel, and multiple air resources are assigned to the Pagami Creek Fire near Ely.

27 National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) Guide restrictions of industrial activity Exhaust/sparks from industry can easily start fires on high fire danger days Public use restrictions Limitations on campfires, prescribed burning, brushpiles, etc: Burn Bans enacted

28 National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) Fire Danger Ratings are for a limited geographic area for which the same fuel and environmental conditions apply (FDR Area) Provide managers within a given location an idea of the average conditions across Fire Danger Rating Area, but must consider their local observed conditions

29 Rx Fire Smoke Management Smoke Management is now among most critical elements Human health & safety

30 Rx Fire Smoke Management Smoke Management Smoke is problematic in several ways: Releases greenhouse gases (e.g., CO 2 ) Releases gases harmful to human & animal health (e.g., CO) Releases particulate matter (visibility and health think asthma and 10-car pile-ups) Florida, 2006 = fatalities from smoke over interstate

31 Rx Fire Smoke Management Smoke Management Have smoke- and firesensitive areas been identified prior to the burn date?

32 Examples of smoke sensitive areas: Dwellings (human & animal) Road ways / Airports Power Transmission Lines Airsheds/ Viewsheds

33 Prepping the burn Fire breaks Use landscape features wherever possible (rivers, ponds, roads) Create with mower, disk In hardwoods, leafblower works great Have lines in place before the day of the burn!

34 Prepping the burn Pre-treat sensitive areas Telephone boxes Power poles Fence posts Make sure all tools & equipment are working before you begin!

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36 Go/no-go checklist Approved: Go / No-Go Checklist QUESTIONS YES NO A set of pre-determined, agreed upon conditions that if not met, keep you from igniting a prescribed fire Make sure all people on your fire review conditions, agree on them Are ALL fire prescription elements in met? Are ALL smoke management specifications met? Are ALL planned operations personnel and equipment on-site, available and operable? Have ALL current & projected fire weather conditions been obtained, and are they favorable? Have ALL personnel been briefed on objectives, assignments, hazards, escape routes, and safety zones? Have ALL required notifications been made? Have ALL required permits & clearances been obtained? IN YOUR OPINION, can the prescribed fire be carried out according to the prescribed burn plan and will it meet planned objectives?

37 Always use caution! Swiss cheese effect How many holes can you handle? When multiple things go wrong, potential for dangerous situation increase when the holes line up

38 Questions?