OU T D O O R S
FIGHTING
Fire Fire
A controlled burn conducted in Nags Head Woods. Photo courtesy of CurrentTV.
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For generations, healthy habitats and safe communities have had one thing in common: prescribed burning. B Y CAT HER I N E KO Z A K
AS FIRES RAGED ACROSS CALIFORNIA LAST
and more recently engulfed wide swaths of Australia, the time-honored art of using fire to prevent fire has suddenly gained more attention. And it turns out that there actually is a right way to start a fire in the woods – but only when there’s a right reason for it. Prescribed burns, also called controlled burns, have been set for centuries in northeastern North Carolina as a way to clear overgrown understory and dead plants and trees. That forest debris serves as great kindling, or as firefighters call it, “fuel.” By eliminating that fuel with fire, new trees and vegetation can grow freely and the risk of uncontrolled wildfires is greatly reduced. “Burning keeps a lot knocked back,” explains John Cook, a district forester with the North Carolina Forest Services. “Indigenous people did that, too.” Native Americans traditionally used controlled fires to clear out undesirable plants and insects. Some forests have even become fire dependent, which means that their healthy growth has evolved around a natural fire cycle. But with increased development, wildfires often have to be contained in order to protect houses and other infrastructure. That means, however, that too much fuel can build up in certain areas – making carefully controlled burns a necessary and proactive fire control measure. John, who oversees District 13, which encompasses hundreds of thousands of acres in Washington, Hyde,
SUMMER,
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Tyrrell and Dare counties, including the Dare County be set at a precise angle or just upwind of a firebreak, Bombing Range, says he’s lit his share of “good” fires which is an area with no flammable material, such as over the course of his long career. cleared land, a road or a river. “It has two values,” he says of a prescribed burn. “It “I’m literally playing with fire,” John says. “You can reduces a fire risk, and it also returns an area to a natural get burned if you’re not careful.” fire occurrence with native plants.” But for all that, there’s always the possibility that Always ready for action, John carries a drip torch in something unexpected can happen, such as a wind shift the back of his truck in case he needs to set a small fire – which makes having a contingency plan vital. in front of a wildfire to deprive it of fuel. “I just can’t assume everything is going to go A metal canister with a handle that typically holds a perfectly,” he adds. mix of diesel and gasoline, the drip torch has a wick at According to John, the next prescribed burn is the end of a long, looped spout. After lighting the wick, set for this spring on 5,000 acres at the Dare County a forester will typically start on the Bombing Range near East Lake. down-wind side of a site. The torch There are also prescribed burns is then swept back and forth along planned in Nags Head Woods and off separate rows of ignition lines. The Bowsertown Road in Manteo. farther apart the lines, the larger and In addition, the U.S. Forest Service more intense the fire can be, and small provides funds for mitigation projects Routine prescribed burns fires also can be placed in unconthat include creating firebreaks in nected spots to decrease the speed in Hyde and Tyrrell counties, as well as are typically scheduled which the fire spreads and builds. more locally in Wanchese, Buxton and with predictable factors “It depends on how much fuel you on Jockey’s Ridge. want to take out,” says John, who’s Even with its large number of in mind that give the best also a fire behavior analysist. “You water bodies and swamps, this area might not necessarily want it to be so has had its share of unpredictable odds for a good outcome. intense.” wildfires, most recently in 2016 in Routine prescribed burns are Nags Head Woods. The 2011 Pains typically scheduled with predictable factors in mind – Bay fire near Stumpy Point, likely started by lightning, such as seasons, wind direction and time of day – that was an especially smoky peat fire that lasted nearly four give the best odds for a good outcome. Spring or fall months. are generally the best times of year since they tend to Besides lightning, John says fires in this humid be milder temperature-wise and have more consistent region are most commonly started from sparks off a winds. If it’s too wet, dry, hot or windy, a fire may not boat trailer bumping the road or a tire blowout – which burn well, or it may simply be too difficult to control. makes sense when you consider the fact that North “It goes back to what you want to happen,” John Carolina has some of the highest density of wildsays. “The key word is a controlled burn.” land-urban interface in the country. Before a fire is set, much also goes into determining “Marsh grass can pick up flames really quickly,” the conditions and the right approach to manipulating a John explains. “And human activity always brings some fire. Depending on a number of factors, it may need to risk.”
