Crews patrol all fires to ensure that the burn is contained and smoke blows away from nearby homes and highways, in compliance with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency smoke management plan.
Oaks, hickories and a few other native trees grow thick bark that protects them from fire. Big bluestem and many other prairie and savanna plants keep their buds safe just beneath the soil's surface. Native wildlife is also adapted to fire. Many animals simply leave the area during a controlled burn and return afterward. Others seek shelter in their underground burrows. Before a controlled burn is ignited, our trained crews examine the proposed burn area to search for nests, dens or other wildlife issues that need to be avoided.
Following a controlled burn, many native plants are more robust and produce more seeds. Fire lengthens their growing season, recycles nutrients and, for a few species, is critical for their seeds to sprout. Non-native invasive plant species aren't so well adapted; therefore, burning keeps them in check. Find additional information on controlled burns and the effect on natural areas.
Use the interactive map below to find locations of controlled burns. If no locations appear, there are currently no burns taking place. Click on the flame icon to learn more about an individual burn. Burning in early spring, or when plants have become dormant in fall, will help maintain the current vegetation on a site by top-killing young trees and older shrubs, which allows them to resprout.
Anyone planning a controlled burn should contact their state forestry agency to learn about applicable laws and regulations, liability issues, and permit requirements. To plan and carry out a controlled burn, consult with a wildlife biologist or natural resource professional. These contacts can provide help. A wide range of conservation partners have created habitat demonstration areas where people can go see young forest and view the wildlife that these areas readily attract.
Search form Search. Controlled Burning. Done properly, it can help limit the spread of fires and make it easier to put them out. But Swansea University professor Stefan Doerr, an expert in wildfires, believes the practice is less effective than it used to be because of the more extreme weather Australia has started to experience.
He adds that a particular feature of the recent fires in Australia is that they have spread across the crown or top part of the forest - so removing growth at ground level does not make that much difference. Also the fires have been hot and intense enough to burn through areas that were already burned, with embers able to travel through the air and ignite areas far away from an active fire. Australian firefighters have a long history of carrying out this type of burning to reduce fire risk.
Burning to prevent fires is regulated and carried out by state agencies like the relevant fire service, park authority or environment body. In areas of special environmental value or near heritage sites, national level permission is needed, according to the Department of the Environment and Energy. An analysis by ABC News shows that while some controlled burning targets in Queensland and New South Wales have been met, others have not because the weather conditions were not right.
The NSW Rural Fire Service report for reveals that although they exceeded targets for reducing fire hazards in parks and forested areas, they fell short of their targets for local government land, privately-owned land and other areas. Controlled burning can only be done in cooler, damper weather with low wind speeds, to avoid the fire getting out of control. In , a fire that was started by the Victoria state authorities to burn off hazardous undergrowth ran out of control, destroying four homes and more than 3, hectares of farmland and forest.
Some experts argue there needs to be a review of how money is spent dealing with fire risks in a hotter, drier climate. Rod Keenan, of the University of Melbourne, who has called for a more integrated approach to land management, says: "A lot of resources have gone into extra fire trucks, hoses and getting volunteers. We're not putting sufficient resources into land management.
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