Understanding the role of prescribed fire in Texas

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AgriLife Extension expert explains safety considerations and benefits to land, wildlife and communities

By Sarah Fuller

When Texans think about land management, fire may not be the first tool that comes to mind. But carefully planned, low-intensity fire is an extremely effective and naturally occurring tool that has been used throughout history to maintain healthy ecosystems.

Known as a prescribed fire or prescribed burn, the practice uses the highly coordinated application of fire under specific weather and safety conditions to reach defined land management goals ranging from wildlife habitat improvement to wildfire fuel reduction.

“Texas’ diverse landscapes evolved alongside fire, which shaped plant communities and maintained habitat conditions that many of our native wildlife species rely on,” said David Brooke, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service statewide prescribed fire coordinator in the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management. He is based in the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo.

Prescribed fires: highly coordinated and planned events with defined goals

Using prescribed fire, land managers can mimic its natural role in a planned and regulated way. Burns can improve livestock forage quality, control invasive plant species like cedar, and enhance browse for white-tailed deer and cover for quail, Brooke said.

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But before Texans can adopt this tool, they must understand it and the role it plays in the landscape.

Brooke said an effective prescribed fire begins long before a flame is ever ignited.

“First and foremost, prescribed fires operate under a written burn plan outlining specific management objectives,” Brooke said. “Everything is intentional and planned out ahead of time.”

Components of a prescribed burn plan include:

Specific goals, such as habitat improvement or fuel reduction.

A notification list, including neighbors, emergency dispatchers or other agencies that may be needed or affected.

Weather parameters such as humidity, wind speed and direction, and fuel moisture.

Safety hazards or considerations, as well as vegetation and surface fuel information.

Equipment and personnel needed.

Safety and contingency plans, as well as post-burn monitoring tasks.

Maps of the project area.

Fire and weather conditions, like humidity and wind speed, are closely monitored by fire and fuel specialists leading up to prescribed fire ignition. If conditions shift outside the plan, the burn should be postponed or canceled, Brooke said.

Prescribed fire mimics natural processes, offers many benefits

Ongoing research confirms that both natural and anthropogenic, or human-caused, fires helped shape the ecology of the Southern U.S. over millennia.

“These regular intervals of low-intensity fire shaped iconic plant communities, like tallgrass prairies, and maintained the habitat conditions many native wildlife species, such as bobwhite quail, rely on,” Brooke said.

A prescribed fire burns a landscape of grasses and one pine tree.

A pine forest understory that experienced a recent prescribed fire.

A pine forest showing a healthy, open, green understory. The bark on the trees shows signs of a previous prescribed fire.

Prescribed fires mimic the regular intervals of low-intensity fire that shaped the ecology of the Southern U.S. This natural process provides numerous benefits, including soil nutrient cycling, improved forage production, enhanced wildlife habitat, fuel load reduction and more. (Texas A&M AgriLife)

Thanks to historic records, fire scars and mathematical models, fire ecologists can estimate the frequency of these fires. With this knowledge, land managers can plan and implement prescribed fires on the landscape, mimicking a natural event that improves the health and resilience of the landscape. New research continues to refine parameters to maximize burn efficiency and achieve specific results.

Brooke said the reintroduction of this natural process:

Aids in soil nutrient cycling, improving soil health.

Helps control non-native plant species, pests like ticks and woody plant encroachment.

Improves forage production and quality.

Enhances wildlife habitat.

Removes hazardous fuel loads, reducing the threat of intense wildfires.

As more homes are built near undeveloped land, Brooke said some communities in Texas are beginning to incorporate prescribed fire plans to prevent and mitigate threats to life and property from wildfire.

“We’re seeing the wildland-urban interface expand across the state, placing homes and communities within previously undeveloped landscapes,” he said. “Low-intensity prescribed fires can be used as one strategy to control fuel buildup and reduce the wildfire threat to communities and families.”

Working to improve knowledge, expand the land manager tool kit

Through statewide workshops, training events and community outreach, Brooke, along with experts from multiple agencies, including Texas A&M Forest Service, is working to equip landowners with the knowledge and support needed to understand and implement this tool.

“Prescribed fire is an effective and highly cost-efficient land management tool that supports resilient ecosystems and communities,” Brooke said. “My goal is to provide landowners and land managers with the knowledge and resources needed to add this tool to their stewardship tool kit.”

Brooke works closely with the Prescribed Burn Alliance of Texas and its member associations as a part of this effort. 

“The more that land managers and the general public understand prescribed fire, the greater opportunity we have to see its safe implementation and advance resource stewardship,” Brooke said.