Conducting a Prescribed Burn

The following short film was derived from long format Tallgrass Prairie Center productions and feature center staff members Dave Williams, Kirk Henderson, Greg Houseal and center Director, Daryl Smith.

[@johnortmann3098]

Nice job. I especially liked what I saw of your pre-ignition briefing. Putting in dirt lines if you are up against cropland is golden. You can do 99% of your holding months ahead of time with zero chance of anything going wrong. I would make one small suggestion. Throw away those federal-style drip torches and get some Panamas with 19" snoots. The style you're using was designed for dropping fire around pretty indiscriminately under timber for burnouts and like. Panamas are designed for grassland use. You need to get the wick pan right on the ground under the grass, don't drop fire on top of the canopy. Fire wants to burn up, not down. You'll get faster and more uniform ignition all along the line. The 19" snoots are best because you don't have to bend over as much, which can get pretty old. With a little practice you can also throw dots up to 20' off the wick, which can come in handy at times.

[@PUFCKG]

Excellent film. Very informative getting told what was happening as it happened. Very enjoyable watch :)

[@georgesheffield1580]

Pleas teach the feds at the forrest service on how to do this

[@renohuskerdu4592]

Thanks for the info. Special thanks for not burdening us with loud intro/outro music, and useless music competing with your voice.

[@timmerrick3678]

Hey, isn't the guy in the green hat the "HikePaddleBike" guy???!!! His videos are out of this world!!

[@timtoddhartley2133]

Keeps you on your toes because I would hate to pay for the whole amount of person to be burned down by my mistakes so take the steps easy steps 1 2 3 thank you for your attention

[@ttlee]

Great video.

[@stampedmetalsword8099]

Can I use a flamethrower instead of a drip-torch?

[@leahyo2451]

You can. I DON'T. I've seen lots of people (especially volunteer fire departments) use them, though. To provide contrast, a drip-torch is dripping flammable fuel (usually at a 50/50 or 60/40, diesel to gasoline or diesel kerosene mixture). This mixed fuel (the direct fuel) will stay lit until IT burns out (you can drip some mixed fuel on concrete, light it on fire, and it will burn until the mixed fuel is consumed - about 3-5 seconds) which allows the actual vegetation (the indirect fuel) to light and carry on by itself. Concisely, you can usually drip a solid line of direct fuel with a drip-torch and create a solid line of fire, adequate indirect fuel permitting, and that is what you want! With a "weed burner" or "flamethrower" (a propane tank with a torch attachment), you have to light the actual vegetation (indirect fuel) on fire. And you have to keep lighting the actual vegetation on fire the whole time you are lighting. Making sure the flamethrower is lighting a solid line Of fire behind you. Sometimes the indirect fuel is easy to light, sometimes not. I'd say a drip-torch makes the work easiest for everyone, but a weed burner can do the trick on small acres with really dry indirect fuel. I would not use a weed burner on a growing season fire, when your indirect fuel has a higher moisture content. You will be pissing on a wildfire (i.e. waisting time and energy, not doing a damn thing).

[@RobertMOdell]

put X in the center square !

[@joshualinder6839]

Is it bad to do a control burn in woods filled with poplar trees?

[@usernamehere6061]

Depends on the fuel load, the time of year you burn it, and your goals. If you want wildlife habitat and are okay if a few trees die then light it up. A dormant season burn would be the safest and least damaging to the trees especially if the fuel load is low (just leaf litter) - keep in mind the objective of fire is to clean the slate for new growth, if you are in dense poplars with little sunlight reaching the forest floor you may not be doing much good. The best combination would be to harvest the mature poplars, opening the canopy, and then burning during the dormant season.

[@vowelsounds6312]

Looks way too windy.

[@crispyhandle]

You obviously know what you’re doing but harley has been doing doing this for years he is a 93’ baby and he has the experience

[@crispyhandle]

The technique you use actually attracts fires, I have lost over 370 family members to this technique

[@ethanevans4523]

could you elaborate on this

[@ethanevans4523]

please