USFS Prescribed Burn on White Iron – 5/5/16 Update

​WICOLA has received the following update from the Forest Service on the White Iron burn:

The USFS announced that it does not look like they will burn the Ring Rock Road unit anytime soon. The USFS needed the wind we had yesterday to keep the heat moving out of the canopy, but we also need the foliar leave moisture (water in the pine needles) to be high enough to protect them from heat. Yesterday, we had the winds, but leaf (or needle) moisture was dropping and so they decided not to burn. "With the heavy slash on the unit, we know we will produce a lot of heat so we want the pines to be as resilient as they can be".

The USFS states that they will re-examine the prescription of the burn and probably shoot for another window later this summer and fall. They will again send out a notification before they plan to burn. The USFS said they will work to balance giving adequate time to plan. The prescription windows are relatively tight, so it is difficult to meet all the parameters at once.

The purpose of the prescribed burn is fuel reduction and ecosystem management.The burns help clean up crushed balsam and brush and create fire resistant forest stands that can reduce the intensity of future landscape wildfires.In addition, balsam and brush shade out pine seedlings and balsam is a ladder fuel.Fire will clear the debris and allow pine seedlings better access to mineral soil.