Editing Controlled burn (section)

== Procedure ==
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Health and safety, protecting personnel, preventing the fire from escaping and reducing the impact of smoke are the most important considerations when planning a controlled burn.<ref name=":4" /> While the most common driver of fuel treatment is the prevention of loss of human life and structures, certain parameters can also be changed to promote biodiversity and to rearrange the age of a stand or the assemblage of species.

To minimize the [[Health effects of wood smoke|impact of smoke]], burning should be restricted to daylight hours whenever possible.<ref>Guidelines for Low Intensity Brush Fire Hazard Reduction http://www.hillside.rfsa.org.au/lowintensityhrburn.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312012412/http://www.hillside.rfsa.org.au/lowintensityhrburn.pdf|date=2019-03-12}} Retrieved on May 8, 2016</ref> Furthermore, in temperate climates, it is important to burn grasslands and prairies before native species begin growing for the season so that only non-native species, which send up shoots earlier in the spring, are affected by the fire.<ref name=":3" />

=== Ground ignition ===
[[File:Controlled burn.jpg|alt=A Burn Boss watches a back fire (which was lit first) as it moves towards a head fire (which was lit afterwards). This image demonstrates that head fires move with the wind and faster so by lighting a slower moving back fire first, the more intense head fire will burn towards blackened ground and put itself out instead of challenging the burn break.|thumb|A controlled burn in Niagara Falls, Ontario where the Burn Boss is watching a back fire (lit first and in the background) move towards a head fire (in the foreground)]]
Back burning or a back fire is the term given to the process of lighting vegetation in such a way that it has to burn against the prevailing wind. This produces a slower moving and more controllable fire. Controlled burns utilize back burning during planned fire events to create a "black line" where fire cannot burn through. Back burning or backfiring is also done to stop a wildfire that is already in progress. Firebreaks are also used as an anchor point to start a line of fires along natural or man-made features such as a river, road or a bulldozed clearing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Whelan |first=Robert J. |date=December 2002 |title=Managing Fire Regimes for Conservation and Property Protection: an Australian Response |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=1659–1661 |bibcode=2002ConBi..16.1659W |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.02091.x |issn=0888-8892 |s2cid=84309403}}</ref>

Head fires, that burn with the prevailing wind, are used between two firebreaks because head fires will burn more intensely and move faster than a back burn. Head fires are used when a back burn would move too slowly through the fuel either because the fuel moisture is high or the wind speed is low.<ref name=":4" /> Another method to increase the speed of a back burn is to use a flank fire which is lit at right angles to the prevailing wind and spreads in the same direction.<ref name=":4" />

==== Grassland or prairie burning ====

In Ontario, Canada, controlled burns are regulated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and only trained personnel can plan and ignite controlled burns within Ontario's fire regions or if the Ministry of Natural Resources in involved in any aspect of planning a controlled burn.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Prescribed burns {{!}} ontario.ca |url=http://www.ontario.ca/page/prescribed-burn |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=www.ontario.ca |language=en}}</ref> The team performing the prescribed burn is divided into several roles; the Burn Boss, Communications, Suppression and Ignition.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources |date=May 2019 |title=Prescribed Burn Manual |url=https://files.ontario.ca/mnrf-prescribed-burn-manual-en-2019-10-03.pdf |access-date=February 7, 2024 |website=Ministry of Natural Resources}}</ref> The planning process begins by submitting an application to a local fire management office and after approval, applicants must submit a burn plan several weeks prior to ignition.<ref name=":2" />

On the day of the controlled burn, personnel meet with the Burn Boss and discuss the tactics being used for ignition and suppression, health and safety precautions, fuel moisture levels and the weather (wind direction, wind speed, temperature and precipitation) for the day. On site, local fire control authorities are notified by telephone about the controlled burn while the rest of the team members fill drip torches with pre-mixed fuel, fill suppression packs with water and put up barricades and signage to prevent pedestrian access to the controlled burn. [[Driptorch]]es are canisters filled with fuel and a wick at the end that is used to ignite the lines of fire. Safe zones are established to ensure personnel know where the fire cannot cross either because of natural barriers like bodies of water or human-made barriers like tilled earth.<ref name=":4" /> [[Image:北海道の野焼きIMG 1210.JPG|thumb|Controlled burn in [[Hokkaido]], Japan]]During ignition, the Burn Boss relays information about the fire (flame length, flame height, the percent of ground that has been blackened) to the Communications Officer who documents this information. The Communications Officer relays information about the wind speed and wind direction so the Burn Boss can determine how the direction of both flames and smoke and plan their lines of fire accordingly. Once the ignition phase has ended in a section, the suppression team "mops up" by using suppression packs to suppress smoldering material. Other tools used for suppression are RTVs equipped with a water tank and a pump and hose that is installed in a nearby body of water. Finally, once the mop up has finished, the Burn Boss declares the controlled burn over and local fire authorities are notified.<ref name=":4" />

==== Slash pile burning ====
There are several different methods used to burn piles of [[Slash (logging)|slash]] from forestry operations. Broadcast burning is the burning of scattered slash over a wide area. Pile burning is gathering up the slash into piles before burning. These burning piles may be referred to as [[bonfire]]s. High temperatures can harm the [[soil]], damaging it [[Hydrophobic soil|physically]], [[chemical change|chemically]] or [[sterilization (microbiology)|sterilizing]] it. Broadcast burns tend to have lower temperatures and will not harm the soil as much as pile burning,<ref name="pile burning">{{cite journal |last=Julie E. Korb |author2=Nancy C. Johnson |author3=W. W. Covington |date=March 2004 |title=Slash Pile Burning Effects on Soil Biotic and Chemical Properties and Plant Establishment: Recommendations for Amelioration |url=http://library.eri.nau.edu/gsdl/collect/erilibra/index/assoc/HASHe36c.dir/doc.pdf |journal=Restoration Ecology |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=52–62 |doi=10.1111/j.1061-2971.2004.00304.x |bibcode=2004ResEc..12...52K |s2cid=85744169 |access-date=2011-06-10 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040021/http://library.eri.nau.edu/gsdl/collect/erilibra/index/assoc/HASHe36c.dir/doc.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> though steps can be taken to treat the soil after a burn. In lop and scatter burning, slash is left to compact over time, or is compacted with machinery. This produces a lower intensity fire, as long as the slash is not packed too tightly.<ref name="pile burning" />

The risk of fatal fires that stem from burning slash can also be reduced by proactively reducing ground fuels before they can create a fuel ladder and begin an active [[crown fire]]. Predictions show thinned forests lead to a reduction in fire intensity and flame lengths of forest fires compared to untouched or fire-proofed areas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mirra|first1=Inês M.|last2=Oliveira|first2=Tiago M.|last3=Barros|first3=Ana M.G.|last4=Fernandes|first4=Paulo M.|title=Fuel dynamics following fire hazard reduction treatments in blue gum ( Eucalyptus globulus ) plantations in Portugal|journal=Forest Ecology and Management|language=en|volume=398|pages=185–195|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2017.05.016|year=2017|bibcode=2017ForEM.398..185M }}</ref>

===Aerial ignition===
[[File:Aerial Ignition WA - 1968.jpg|thumb|Airplane in Western Australia performing aerial ignition]]

Aerial ignition is a type of controlled burn where [[incendiary devices]] are released from aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is aerial ignition? |url=https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/What-is-aerial-Ignition |website=AskUSDA |publisher=USDA |access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref>