Prescribed Burns - how to get started?

[escpen]

Hello,

I am very interested in using prescribed fire for helping to manage small sections of my property in upstate NY. There appear to be a number of restrictions associated with prescribed burns in NY and, while I've done some research on how to conduct burns in a lawful manner, I've started to hit some dead ends. For those of you who are well versed in prescribed fire, I'd be very interested to hear how you got started with this management tool in the hopes that maybe it will give me some ideas on how to go about doing things.

Any information you all can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help!

Anthony

 

[weekender21]

I took a prescribed fire course offered by the state (North Carolina) over the summer. It was very informative.

Is prescribed fire legal in NY?


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[SwampCat]

Make sure your personal liability policy is paid up.

 

[escpen]

I took a prescribed fire course offered by the state (North Carolina) over the summer. It was very informative.

Is prescribed fire legal in NY?


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Yes, it is legal. But you have to be "certified" to be able to conduct prescribed burns. The process and qualifications, as far as I can tell, are very subjective.

 

[escpen]

Make sure your personal liability policy is paid up.

Have you done any prescribed burning? Have you had a fire get away from you?

 

[MRBB]

I'd suggest talking to your local fire dept, you might get them to MAYBE run a practice fire drill on your land , and help you that way, while they get training
other wise,
the biggest hurdle your going to find , is getting permission other wise, due to the fear of law suits and liability concerns

I am no expert in NY, but here in PA< even the state game dept is scared of using fire due to fears of being sued if things go wrong, for decades is was part of there normal practices then magically lawyers got involved and fear of huge l;aw suits stops them 99% of the time from doing them any more!
the risks, really don't justify the slight benefits of the burns anymore!
sucks, but is what it is more or less in modern times!

like I said, you might get lucky with local fire dept, helping, but even they have curbed back a ton of helping with fires to get rid of things(like old homes, or even as you wish, controlled burns)
all due to fear of a fire jumping or damaging something and them being liable!
good luck!

 

[PatinPA]

I'm interested in prescribed fire too. I have loads of hemlock branches on the ground from when I timbered. I don't think the deer like walking through/bedding in it because it is a mess in some places. I thought that would be the easiest way to get rid of them but I have no experience with it and don't really want to attempt it without having someone qualified to do it

 

[hesseu]

Each state has different rules / regulations. So, make sure you are aware of them.

Conditions for burning, and fire breaks are the key. Fire is extremely beneficial...but, it is also a daunting task. Start out with small sections...heck, even 1/2 an acre with good breaks to see how the fire reacts. If you start doing a small woods section, use a blower to put in your fire lines / breaks.

There's lots of phenomenal info out there for prescribed fires.

 

[escpen]

Each state has different rules / regulations. So, make sure you are aware of them.

Conditions for burning, and fire breaks are the key. Fire is extremely beneficial...but, it is also a daunting task. Start out with small sections...heck, even 1/2 an acre with good breaks to see how the fire reacts. If you start doing a small woods section, use a blower to put in your fire lines / breaks.

There's lots of phenomenal info out there for prescribed fires.

There's no doubt in my mind that I could figure out how to do a prescribed fire safely with all of the resources that are available on that topic. What I'm less sure of is how to go about doing this in a legal manner. I know that the NYS DEC conducts some prescribed burns every year in various state land locations. Maybe my best bet would be to get in touch with them to determine how one might go about getting certified for prescribed burns? As I understand it, unless you are certified and have an approved burn plan then you are not able to conduct prescribed burns.

 

[MRBB]

I'll just add this to be called food for thought
but over the yrs on a few properties I managed
what we did was, after snow came off, before things greened up, , or maybe shroud say before weather got too hot to be doing the work in HAHA!
we would start building BIG piles of dead tree's branches and such
we would even drop a lot of the dead standing tree's, and pile them up into piles scattered about, so not to have to carry things all too far
but yet make piles large enough so they would burn down really well

then we would come back the following winter when there was snow , and burn the piles, this saved us from having to worry about fire spreading, and it cleaned up a few tons worth of dead material, which allowed more new things to grow up
we would then come back in spring time and seed the spots where we burned too, as the ashes gave good boots to seeds and got things growing faster

not the same as a controlled burn to clear lore land , but it did work very well for us, and prevented the risks of a fire at other times of the yr
I will say, one big key to getting the piles to burn well was stacking lot of smaller stuff on the bottom, then putting larger things on, so once going they would fuel the big stuff to get it going!
just make sure you keep a eye out for branches above and near piles, ,as you DON"T want them to get damaged from, heat or flames! so build piles accordingly

we have also burned piles like this on rainy days too, but we would many time use old tarps(or get free billboard signs) to cover to keep them dry while rest got wet and then burn again in a rain fall!
a little rain gear on and its not so bad being in the rian!

 

[hesseu]

There's no doubt in my mind that I could figure out how to do a prescribed fire safely with all of the resources that are available on that topic. What I'm less sure of is how to go about doing this in a legal manner. I know that the NYS DEC conducts some prescribed burns every year in various state land locations. Maybe my best bet would be to get in touch with them to determine how one might go about getting certified for prescribed burns? As I understand it, unless you are certified and have an approved burn plan then you are not able to conduct prescribed burns.

Gotcha...Yes, you'll definitely want to contact someone there in your state to get the details on the legalities.

 

[SwampCat]

Have you done any prescribed burning? Have you had a fire get away from you?

I have done a lot of prescribed burning - both as a Federal Resource Manager and on my private land. I have seen fire get out on a number of occasions when working for the Feds. I almost had a fire get out on my own land that scared me into no more burnings. The fire lacked about two feet from crossing a firelane and we caught it just in time. Had it got out, it would have most likely burned down at least one mobile home and maybe a house. Havent burned an acre since. I have worked as a fire suppressioner out west, been to a number of prescribed fire classes put on by both the state and feds. Even taught some. Not anymore. I will do five times as much work so I dont have to burn, or pay someone else to do it - State Forestry. Those that still do, best of luck.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Burn a decent amount. A lot of times your biggest issue is going to get conditions where a fire will actually carry. Too humid, too wet, not enough fuel, etc. As far as getting started, apparently it’s a little more laid back in the south. Call the fire department and tell them you are burning. As far as precautions, conditions and breaks. Learn humidity response and watch wind speeds and directions. Plenty of resources through podcasts and YouTube to help get started. And then when you are ready start SMALL. Literally take a 10’ x 10’ area, blow or cut out a break and see how fire reacts.
Burning is awesome and a total gamechanger on the landscape. Additionally it is some of the cheapest, efficient and large scale habitat work you can do.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Burn a decent amount. A lot of times your biggest issue is going to get conditions where a fire will actually carry. Too humid, too wet, not enough fuel, etc. As far as getting started, apparently it’s a little more laid back in the south. Call the fire department and tell them you are burning. As far as precautions, conditions and breaks. Learn humidity response and watch wind speeds and directions. Plenty of resources through podcasts and YouTube to help get started. And then when you are ready start SMALL. Literally take a 10’ x 10’ area, blow or cut out a break and see how fire reacts.
Burning is awesome and a total gamechanger on the landscape. Additionally it is some of the cheapest, efficient and large scale habitat work you can do.

Minnesota may be a state run by crazy liberals but it is easy to get the proper permits to burn. The state forestry agency burns thousands of acres every year in our area.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Minnesota may be a state run by crazy liberals but it is easy to get the proper permits to burn. The state forestry agency burns thousands of acres every year in our area.

Kentucky you don’t even have to get a permit. Just call the fire department but…in their infinite wisdom though they have very restrictive seasons which basically limit your window to burn to a few weeks if you choose to abide by the law. Basically they are saying you can burn at night (if you can actually get a fire to carry) which is infinitely more dangerous than burning when you can actually see.

• Spring Forest Fire Hazard Season: Feb. 15 - April 30
• Fall Forest Fire Hazard Season: Oct. 1 - Dec. 15
• During fire seasons, it is illegal to burn anything within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m

 

[cbw]

We will be burning timber for the first time this spring. Here are some resources that I’ve found helpful:

Documents: https://naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/prescribed-fire

9-part video series: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpkEiJv9k6M1hUflhvVGvqMt1p7H-v3Oc


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[WeedyJ]

I'm interested in prescribed fire too. I have loads of hemlock branches on the ground from when I timbered. I don't think the deer like walking through/bedding in it because it is a mess in some places. I thought that would be the easiest way to get rid of them but I have no experience with it and don't really want to attempt it without having someone qualified to do it

From my experience, the ground branches won't burn. I was excited to get rid of downed woody stuff, including logs, but no luck. Just blackens them. have to pile it make sure it's dry.

 

[PatinPA]

From my experience, the ground branches won't burn. I was excited to get rid of downed woody stuff, including logs, but no luck. Just blackens them. have to pile it make sure it's dry.

Ya I kind of wondered if that would be the case. The piles I have moved to clear trails or plots always seem to be holding moisture. It would have to be a pretty hot fire to burn them.

 

[BenAllgood]

Contact your NRCS office and tell them you want to implement some of these practices. Here's the link for New York and practices offered. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ny/technical/cp/?cid=nrcs144p2_027122

 

[Derek Reese 29]

I did a fire this spring, but it was only ~0.5 acre on a field that had a huge layer of thatch. The wind actually helped, as we tried to burn into it, but had to resort to using the wind. I used a hare to make a 10' wide muddy path along the outside and had several sprayers in reserve. We used a weed torch to start and maintain the fire and at one point the fire got about 4' high and was moving very fast, but I had 5-7 guys with rakes to help keep it from getting nuts. I called the 2 nearest fire departments ahead of time and had to call the non-emergency com center before I started and after the fire was out (had to spray with water from an ATV sprayer to make sure). I was also told if the fire department had to come out, they would put it out and I would not be able to do it again. It took a bit of planning and a great weather day (wind right direction and speed) but I was very pleased with the results (got rye and BW to grow in a field that had previously been 4' deep in reed canary grass).