Controlled burn maintains prairie at Hillman Marsh

By Mark Ribble

Fire is a powerful force and, if used properly, can be a benefit to ecosystems throughout the world. Such is the case at Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, where a prescribed and controlled burn was performed by Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) staff on Tuesday, March 21.

Throughout history, fire has been nature’s method of revitalizing and maintaining tall grass prairie ecosystems, keeping them open and free of shrubbery, allowing rare plants and animals to flourish. Periodic prescribed burns provide the same benefits but in a very controlled fashion.

ERCA Biologist and burn boss Dan Lebedyk conducted a briefing for the fire crews and media prior to the burn, which was performed on a 12acre prairie field at Hillman on Tuesday afternoon.

“Fire is a natural maintenance method and necessary for prairies to survive,” he said. “With rain in the forecast, we only have this one-day window to perform the burn.”

Lebedyk set a plan in motion, taking wind direction and patterns into consideration which was executed perfectly, minimizing smoke and mitigating any chance of injury for those involved.

Lebedyk went over safety issues, with a stepby-step burn process.

The burn began with drip torches igniting the northern edge of the field along the gravel pathway that leads back into the marsh area from the parking lot.

That ignition acted as a barrier to flames and created a ‘back-burn’, where the burn begins to creep into the field at a pace of about one metre per minute, despite being against the wind.

Swaths were then made at about 10-metre intervals as fire crews ignited the field in sections, progressing across the field in a southerly fashion. Smoke stayed low to the ground for the majority of the operation and Lebedyk said errant embers were not an issue.

“This type of prairie grass does not create embers,” he said. “It’s an ecosystem that’s not very common in Essex County.”

The same field had been burned three times before by ERCA — 2006, 2016 and 2018 — and Lebedyk was involved in all three.

“That 2006 burn was my first,” he said. “And this one is my last.”

Lebedyk will retire at the end of the year and the burn boss job will be passed on to one of the crew — Kate Arthur, who is a restoration biologist with ERCA.

The team of six from ERCA was joined by Eric Peters of Caldwell First Nation, who was on hand to learn the methods employed by the crew and gain some experience to take back to the community.

ERCA Fire Boss Dan Lebedyk outlines the plan prior to the controlled burn on March 21 at Hillman Marsh.

ERCA restoration biologist Kate Arthur trails the wick torch along the northern end of the prairie field to begin the back-burn process.

Eric Peters from the Caldwell First Nation (CFN) applies water to the edge of the fire as a means of suppression during the controlled burn at Hillman Marsh on March 21. Peters was on hand to observe and participate on behalf of the CFN. SUN photos

Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) fire crew member and conservation area technician Tim Baxter gets ready with his fire suppression backpack as flames climb through the air at Hillman Marsh on Tuesday, March 21. ERCA was on hand to perform a prescribed controlled burn of the 12-acre prairie grass field on the conservation area property. The prescribed burns are necessary from time-to-time to allow vegetation and other species to rejuvenate in a natural environment. A full story and more photos are on page 9. SUN photo