The BLM, a leader in the nation’s management of wildland fire, carries out a broad range of actions to protect the public, natural landscapes, wildlife habitat, recreational areas, and other values and resources. The agency’s national BLM Fire program, which focuses on public safety as its top priority, consists of fire suppression, preparedness, predictive services, vegetative fuels management, prescribed fire, community assistance and protection, and fire prevention through education.
This area was part of the Crack in the Ground hazardous fuels reduction plan. 670 acres of Juniper were felled and then burned in what is called a prescribed fire. A prescription is a set of conditions that considers the safety of the public and fire staff, weather, and probability of meeting the burn objectives.
Prescribed fire is one of the most important tools used to manage fire today. A scientific prescription for each fire, prepared in advance, describes its objectives, fuels, size, the precise environmental conditions under which it will burn, and conditions under which it may be suppressed. The fire may be designed to create a mosaic of diverse habitats for plants and animals, to help endangered species recover, or to reduce fuels and thereby prevent a destructive fire.