Prescribed Fire: Does It Have a Place on My Land?

What is Prescribed Fire?

Fire benefits many types of ecosystems, and many ecosystems depend on regular burning for their existence. Decades of putting out all fires has disrupted this natural process and resulted in the loss of many fire-adapted plant and wildlife communities. News stories about large catastrophic fires in the Western U.S. represent fire as a negative force, but most fires burn in small areas and don't result in destruction. Hazardous and damaging wildfires tend to occur under extreme conditions and on landscapes with an excessive build-up of dry woody debris and dense vegetation resulting from decades of fire exclusion. When applied correctly, controlled burning or "prescribed fire" can help restore balance within ecosystems and provide many benefits to landowners in Pennsylvania and throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Prescribed burning is the intentional and strategic application of fire on the landscape (e.g., prairies, forests, agricultural lands) in order to achieve specific management objectives. A prescribed burn occurs over a specified area ranging from just a few acres to several hundred acres. Reasons for using prescribed fire often include invasive plant control, regeneration of native tree seedlings, enhancing wildlife habitat, reducing ticks and tick-borne disease, and reducing the threat of hazardous wildfires. 

Where do Prescribed Fires Occur?

Prescribed fire is used in many parts of the world in a variety of settings (e.g., forests, savannas, grasslands, and marshes) and for agricultural purposes. In the U.S., over 10 million acres are burned annually, mostly in the southeastern and western regions (Melvin 2018). However, research has found fire to be historically and ecologically important in other parts of the eastern U.S., including Pennsylvania.

Prescribed burning is widely used by federal land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. Non-governmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and tribal organizations also use prescribed fire to help meet landscape-level restoration and conservation goals across the U.S. Private landowners are frequent users of prescribed fire to help achieve their own management objectives.  

In 2009, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed the Prescribed Burning Practices Act, which recognizes the value of prescribed burning and protects those who implement prescribed fire when following certain standards. Since then, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources have been expanding their use of prescribed fire as a management tool.

Despite its widely known benefits, prescribed fire is rarely used on private lands in Pennsylvania. Out of the 14,093 acres burned in 2019, only 340 acres were on private lands. This discrepancy is surprising when considering that 70% of the almost 17 million acres of forests in Pennsylvania are privately owned.

Benefits of Prescribed Fire

Prescribed fire works by enhancing ecological processes and shaping landscape features. The following is a description of the benefits often associated with prescribed fire.

• Wildlife – Fire plays a significant role in shaping wildlife population health because many species depend on the plant regeneration that follows a fire. Fire creates and maintains an open forest structure, which allows grasses and forbs to increase, due to increased sunlight. Many wildlife species depend on these herbaceous plants for food as well as many pollinating insects. Without this forage, some wildlife will browse heavily on select tree seedlings and impact tree regeneration. Fire also creates early-successional forest structures (i.e., young, dense, low-stature trees) that are often preferred by important game species (i.e., grouse, quail, and turkey) as well as other non-game mammals, reptiles, and birds (e.g., golden-winged warbler, woodcock, cottontail rabbit). Recent research has found wildlife such as squirrels, wild turkey, and deer even prefer fire-scorched acorns and are attracted to areas that have been recently burned. Humans may not be the only ones who prefer a cooked meal! The timing of burning is also important for synchronizing with the habitat needs of wildlife. For example, burning in the summer can stimulate the provision of high-quality forage for white-tailed deer in the fall, when females are still lactating and need additional energy. By applying fire at strategic intervals, a mosaic of habitats eventually forms. These habitats are then used by wildlife for travel, feeding, nesting, and cover. Diverse types of habitats also support biological diversity more broadly, which is needed for maintaining healthy wildlife populations and healthy forests.
• Pasture growth – In many natural ecosystems, periodic burning is important for nutrient cycling and stimulating new plant growth. In the past, fire was critical for nutrient cycling in prairie ecosystems where bison once grazed in huge numbers. Fire can increase the availability of many important soil nutrients, such as calcium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and can increase soil pH. Burning can stimulate new plant growth in cattle-grazing lands and can be used in croplands to help cycle nutrients prior to planting.
• Native plant communities. Prescribed fire helps maintain many native plant communities, such as those found in prairies and marsh ecosystems. Prescribed fire is also important for maintaining forest communities and important tree species, such as oaks. For example, fire helps consume the thick layer of leaves that is a barrier to oak seedling establishment. Oaks are also intolerant of heavy shade and cannot successfully regenerate in dense forests. Fire can be used to create openings in the canopy to support the light requirements of oak seedlings. Oaks are adapted to withstand regular burning and develop a thick bark at the base of the tree.
• Unwanted vegetation – Prescribed fire can be used to manage unwanted vegetation, such as non-native invasive plant species that outcompete native flora. Burning alone can reduce the need for chemical control measures such as herbicides, but to be effective, burning may need to be done repeatedly.  Burning can also be used in conjunction with chemical or mechanical treatments to maximize effectiveness, minimize chemical use, and reduce costs.
• Pests and disease – Prescribed fire can directly reduce damaging insect and disease organisms that impact many ecosystems. Burning can also increase the resilience of forests to insect pests and diseases by reducing competing vegetation and enhancing the growth and defense of mature trees.
• Ticks - Prescribed burning can be used to control ticks through direct mortality, including to overwintering eggs, and by reducing vegetation density and forest floor litter. As early as the mid-1700s, colonists in present-day New Jersey reported increases in ticks following the banning of burning. Excluding fire can also increase wildlife species (e.g., the white-footed mouse) that are important tick hosts and vector tick-borne diseases (e.g., Lyme disease). Recent increases in ticks and tick-borne disease in the eastern U.S. may in part be attributed to long-term fire exclusion and loss of fire-dependent ecosystems.
• Wildfire hazard – Prescribed burning is widely recognized to reduce wildfire hazard by limiting development of hazardous fuel conditions.  Decades of fire suppression are one of the main causes of increasingly destructive fires in the western US, and prescribed burning is now becoming a critical component to managing wildfire in those arid regions. Although large wildfires are rare in the eastern U.S., damaging fires do occur under dry and windy conditions. Excessive fuel build-up in some northeastern/mid-Atlantic fire-prone ecosystems that have undergone decades of fire suppression can pose a fire hazard under extreme conditions. Prescribed burns are conducted during mild weather and with favorable fuel and atmospheric conditions to ensure a safe and effective burn and to limit excessive smoke that can occur during an intense wildfire.
• Cultural – Often overlooked, there is a long history of burning by many human societies. It is a cultural practice that was largely suppressed across most of the U.S. for well over a century. Burning with neighbors and working with others through burn associations can be a great way to rekindle cultural connections to the safe use of fire on private lands.

Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Laws

Over the past century, very little burning was conducted in Pennsylvania. In 2009, House Bill 262 was signed into law, which established the Pennsylvania Prescribed Burning Practices Act, hereafter "prescribed burn act." The law was created to encourage the use of prescribed fire and provides liability protection when burns are conducted pursuant to this act. The law tasked the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to develop the Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Standards. These "standards" are the requirements for prescribed fire planning and implementation that allow fire practitioners to be covered under the law. The current standards were created by the PA Bureau of Forestry (DCNR) and the PA Prescribed Fire Council and can be found on the DCNR website. All prescribed fires conducted in Pennsylvania must follow the designated standards in order to be covered under the liability protection of the Prescribed Burn Act.

The standards outline two primary requirements: 1) implementers must have an approved burn plan, and 2) prescribed fires are to be conducted by qualified personnel. A burn plan is a written document that describes the objective of the burn, the location and description of the burn area, target weather and fuels conditions, expected fire behavior, safety and control measures, potential hazards associated with the burn, and contingency plans in the event conditions change during the burn. The standards describe what is minimally required in a burn plan. On private lands, the landowner is responsible for approving a burn plan, which is also signed by a qualified "burn boss." A burn boss is a certified burn manager who has had advanced training and experience and can plan and implement the prescribed fire. The burn plan is a contract between the landowner and the burn boss. Both the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and DCNR need to be notified prior to burning, and a copy of the burn plan sent to DCNR; a portion of the burn plan also needs to be sent to DEP. In order to conduct the burn, weather and fuel conditions need to be within the ranges set forth by the burn plan, i.e., the "prescription" of the burn plan. A burn plan is effective for three years after the last approval signature.

All personnel implementing a prescribed fire pursuant to the Prescribed Burn Act must be qualified according to the standards. Prescribed burns are categorized by their complexity, which is based on vegetation type, terrain, size of the burn, etc. Each burn has to be led by a burn boss who is qualified to conduct a burn of that level of complexity. All other personnel working on the fire must also be properly trained and certified with the minimum training courses and experience required for their specific positions. The types of positions and number of personnel that are required will vary with the complexity of a burn, but they include persons responsible for igniting the fire within designated areas and persons responsible for ensuring the fire does not spread outside of control lines. Prescribed burns are typically ignited by hand using drip torches and in specific patterns to control fire behavior. Prescribed burn crews are qualified firefighters and use the same kinds of fire suppression equipment to ensure fire doesn't spread (e.g., specialized fire tools, all-terrain vehicles with fire pumps, and fire engines).

A key function of the Prescribed Burning Practices Act is to protect the property owner, burn manager/boss or persons working under the burn boss from civil or criminal penalty—if all of the standards are followed and negligence hasn't occurred. Private landowners in PA have the opportunity to burn pursuant to the Prescribed Burning Practices Act; however, a qualified burn boss and crew are necessary in order to burn under the Pennsylvania standards. While the prescribed burn act does not outlaw burning by landowners themselves, it does provide significant legal protection when burns are conducted according to the standards. It is recommended that landowners use these standards for their own protection. Other state requirements related to open burning under 25 Pa. Code § 129.14 (a) and (b) do not apply when burning pursuant to the PA Prescribed Burn Act. All burning in PA, however, is subject to the 1960 Air Pollution Control Act, which grants authority to DEP to regulate air quality.

Risks of Prescribed Burning

The risks associated with prescribed fire are very different compared to wildfire. Prescribed fires are conducted in a controlled manner and under specified conditions to minimize risk, control smoke, and meet specific objectives. However, the potential for an escaped fire, damage to property, injury to personnel, and unintended damage are all factors that need to be taken into consideration.

In determining risk, one nationwide report found that out of 23,050 prescribed fires conducted on 3.7 million acres, only 199 resulted in an escaped fire, with one minor injury reported, one insurance claim for less than $5000, and no lawsuits (Weir et al., 2020). The risk of injury from prescribed fires is also significantly less than many other land management activities. For example, Twidwell et al. (2015) estimated that logging fatality rates (per 100,000 workers) between 1963 and 2013 were more than 17 times greater than wildland firefighting, which is significantly more hazardous than prescribed burning (Weir et al. 2020).

Risk of harm associated with smoke is another consideration for both wildfires and prescribed fires. Smoke can be managed, however, under specified weather and atmospheric conditions during prescribed burns. Burn plans indicate potential smoke-sensitive areas (e.g., hospitals, schools) and include a smoke management plan to reduce risks.

Having a burn plan and sticking to the parameters of that plan is an important risk-management measure for any prescribed burn, whether burning under the Pennsylvania standards or not. Although burning does not come without risk, prescribed fire is a safe and effective tool widely used to reach ecological goals and to meet many other land management objectives.

Cost of Prescribed Burning

Prescribed fire is often considered a cost-effective management tool because it can help achieve a wide range of management objectives simultaneously (e.g., enhance wildlife habitat and reduce pests). The cost of burning can vary widely due to factors such as burn unit size, availability of prescribed fire crews (e.g., consultants), as well as terrain and vegetation types. Small burn units can be much more expensive due to fixed costs and other factors. In the southeastern U.S., where prescribed fire is a common management practice, the average cost is about $32/acre (Maggard and Barlow 2019). In Pennsylvania, the per-acre cost of burning is highly variable and can be as high as $400/acre or more, particularly for small burn units. While burning on private lands in Pennsylvania has increased since the prescribed burn act was passed, it is still uncommon and there are few consultants who burn.  A 2018 survey of private forest landowners in Pennsylvania found a significant demand for burning.  If more consultants can provide burning services to landowners and meet the increasing demand, the costs of burning may become more well-established.

State agencies (e.g., PGC) will sometimes agree to burn on private lands when certain agreements are in place or if private lands are adjacent to agency land (e.g,. a state game land). Non-governmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy can also help burn on private lands to achieve conservation goals. There is some financial assistance for burning on private lands provided through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). However, what makes prescribed burning difficult on most private lands is that there are few private consultants who are qualified to burn according to the standards in Pennsylvania. The cost of burning in Pennsylvania could likely become more comparable to southeastern states if a similar number of qualified consultants and infrastructure were in place for assisting private landowners who want to burn on their property.

Economies of scale issues can make burning on small parcels more expensive; however, burning multiple properties at once can help reduce costs as the size of the burn area increases. Programs such as prescribed burn associations are often used in other states to help multiple landowners utilize fire and reduce costs.  Burn associations are a great way for landowners to work together to help achieve prescribed fire goals on their property through collaboration. There are currently no prescribed burn associations in Pennsylvania, but they are active in many other states. You can learn more about some of these burn associations at this website.

Resources for Landowners

There are many resources available to Pennsylvania private landowners surrounding prescribed fires. The following links provide information, tools, and contact information regarding burning.

• The Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Council
• Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
• The Pennsylvania Game Commission
• The Nature Conservancy
• Service Foresters

Natural Resources Conservation Service

• Pennsylvania Prescribed Burning Act
• Pennsylvania Burn Standards
• National Weather Service Fire Weather
• FRAMES (Fire Research and Management Exchange System)
• Treesearch (US Forest Service Research)
• Google Scholar (search for scientific research)
• North Carolina State University Extension - Prescribed burn associations  

Student Authors

This article was written in coordination with graduate student Arun Regmi, and undergraduate students Jacob Seifert, Travis Incollingo, and Ezra Houston as part of a class project in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Penn State. You are invited to leave comments for the student authors at this link.

Support for this article was provided by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture

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