Prescribed Fire

An Important Tool to Tame Wildfire

Did you notice that this forest burned? Some areas show no signs of fire. Blackened tree skeletons tell of crown fire in other areas. This is a typical burn mosaic of a western wildfire. How did the visitor center and nearby trees survive? Fire tells a story at Jewel Cave National Monument.

Serving the Forest

Prescribed fires revived the forest around you. How? Without natural fires the forest stagnated. Prescribed fires released locked up nutrients by turning plants into ash. Now soil is richer in treated areas. Prescribed fires also keep meadows open.

Saving the Visitor Center

The National Park Service used fire against fire here. Starting in 1986, "prescribed fires" were ignited in surrounding patches of forest. Why? Without natural fires hotter, more destructive fires had become a dangerous possibility. Prescribed fires cleaned the forest.

It worked! When a wildfire swept through the monument in 2000, it burned cooler in the treated forest patches. Prescribed fire helped these buildings survive a wildfire that elsewhere was an inferno.

Caption for center photos: Prescribed fires are carefully calculated events and conducted by trained fire professionals.

Prescribed Fire and You

Prescribed fire worked at Jewel Cave National Monument. Natural resource managers across the country use prescribed fire as a tool to tame wildfire. Has it been successfully used in your area? Talk to a park ranger to find out more about prescribed fires in National Parks.

Sidebar:

Before a prescribed fire is ignited certain environmental elements must fall within a predetermined "prescription":

• Weather (like wind conditions, temperature and humidity levels)

• Moisture levels in dead vegetation

• Quantity and availability of plant material for fuel

Prescribed fires are designed to achieve goals, such as:

• Reduce excessive amounts of dead vegetation

• Protect visitors, facilities and other resources from wildfire

• Improve wildlife habitat

• Kill exotic species

• Promote overall ecosystem health

Marker is at the intersection of U.S. 16 and Jewel Cave National Monument Entrance Road, on the left when traveling west on U.S. 16.