How to conduct a Prescribed Burn


DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility how the information below is used. Prescribed burning is a hazardous activity and even if done correctly can escalate into an undesirable situation.

You don't just set the pasture on fire! A prescribed burn can be done safely if carefully designed and thought through.

Below is an outline of the procedure I use to conduct prescribed burning.

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Note the disked area to the right as a fire break. Water is in the sprayer and a shovel is by the sprayer. The helper is using a drip torch to start a line of fire.

General Notes

  • Before you conduct a prescribed burn, participate/be a helper in at least two large prescribed burns. There are also classes, though most are a week long.
  • Have a written procedure for the burn.
  • Confirm insurance coverage for prescribed burning. May need to get a policy with the Texas Farmer Bureau.
  • Note the GPS location of the burn in your written procedure, e.g., GPS: 30.7032, -95.6427
  • The burn area is a weedy Bermudagrass/Bahiagrass pasture.
  • There are several large trees in the pasture. There are two water faucets.
  • Desired weather conditions for a burn are:
    • wind speed 6-15 mph,
    • steady wind direction,
    • air temperature 40 to 80 degrees F.,
    • relative humidity 25 to 60 percent.
  • Wind notes: The TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) specifies a minimum speed of 6 mph (aid in dissipation) and max of 23 mph (to maintain control). Typically, once the sustained winds reach around 8 mph you can expect more frequent gusts into the teens. As the sustained wind speed increases, the frequency and speed of the gusts will typically increase as well. So a 14 mph sustained wind speed may see gusts to 20+ mph pretty consistently.
  • Try to avoid burning when the wind is from the East – can be erratic with constant direction changes.
  • Burning should not begin before 9:00 a.m. and should be completed by 5:00 p.m.
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If you are not comfortable being around this, you are not ready to conduct a prescribed fire. Find someone doing a burn and help them to learn how to do this.

Several Days Before Burn

  • Start watching the weather forecast for favorable conditions:
  • Do any needed maintenance to tractor, disc harrow, ATV and water sprayer tank.
  • Check with neighbors to let them know of burn and line up help.
  • Create fire break around area to be burned. Use a disc harrow and turn soil until there is not enough vegetation to carry a fire. Break should be 5-8’ wide.
  • Install hoses on the pasture water stations.
  • Service and fill drip torch. Mixtures:
    • <40F, 50:50 diesel:gasoline
    • 40-60F, 55:45
    • 60-80F, 60:40
    • >80F. 65:35
  • Check radios.
  • Load water tank on ATV. Partially fill with water. Check pump, make sure it works.
  • Get hand tools together – shovels, rake, burlap.
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Day of Burn

  1. Check the weather forecast, confirm conditions are still favorable to conducting a burn:
  2. Check you have at least one helper. More is better.
  3. Call:
    • Walker County Public Safety Communications Center (WCPSCC): 936-435-8001, #1, #1
    • Optional: Texas Forest Service (TFS): 844-476-3473 (GPS: 30.7032, -95.6427)
    • Optional: Huntsville Fire Department (HFD): 936-291-3047
  4. Have tractor with disc harrow and ATV with water tank on location and fueled. Confirm hoses on water faucets.
  5. Conduct safety meeting with participants. Discuss burn boundaries, general approach to fire setting, use of drip torch, radio check.
  6. Ignition plan:
    1. Initiate a test fire on the downwind portion of the desired burn area, adjacent to the fire break.
    2. If wind looks good:
    3. Create several burn strips on downwind section of desired burn area, near the fire break. Goal is to widen the burned/non-fuel area next to the fire break to reduce chance of the fire jumping the fire break.
    4. Initiate burn along the edges of the fire break, parallel to the wind.
    5. Initiate several additional burn strips on the downwind portion of the burn area.
    6. If burn is behaving as expected: Initiate burn at upwind side of burn area.
    7. Monitor fire break for fire jumping across the break.
  7. Once area is burned, monitor for any reignition issues.
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Can a rake save a forest? Yes, as long as you have a drip torch in the other hand.

References



Contact: Joe Anders, jlanders@hotmail.com