Management after wildfire

              Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources • Oklahoma State University
NREM-2881
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets
are also available on our website at:
http://osufacts.okstate.edu
Steve Glasgow
State Grazing Lands Specialist
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
Terrence G. Bidwell
Professor, Extension Rangeland Ecology
and Management Specialist
What can Landowners do to manage property after a wildfire?
Management after Wildfire
Impacts of Fire
Many people don’t understand the role of fire in the eco­system. When wildfires roll across the landscape the primary thought in many minds is that of total loss and devastation, especially when coping with the loss of homes and barns. Landowners who rely on grasslands, shrublands, and forests as an enterprise (grazing, haying, timber production, and rec­reational leasing for wildlife) are faced with the question of “What do I do to recover the vegetation and habitat that I rely on?” And even though the initial appearance on the land is that of a moonscape, devoid of most vegetation, these lands will recover naturally.
Fire has been, and still is, an essential part of maintaining healthy native grassland, shrubland, and forest ecosystems and has positive impacts. In fact, fire applied in a prescribed manner is a valuable management tool used by many Okla­homa farmers and ranchers to restore and maintain healthy plant communities. Oklahoma’s native ecosystems are fire dependent, and without fire these plant communities become dysfunctional and unproductive.
Another result of fire suppression is increased wildland fuel loads, which when combined with extreme weather condi­tions (high wind, low humidity, high temperatures) are a recipe for wildfires. Wildfires are fires that occur unintentionally. Each year, wildfires become more common and more difficult to control in some areas because of an increase in wildland fuels. Reducing wildland fuel will not eliminate wildfire potential but will reduce potential loss of structures, danger to firefight­ers, and costs of control. Wildfire danger to firefighters and homeowners is magnified by the presence of eastern redcedar. Firefighters should not have to fight fire in eastern redcedar but it is present on many lands that are poorly managed.
Prescribed fire is the use of fire applied under specific conditions, following appropriate planning, which allows the fire to be confined to a specific area in order to accomplish a planned land management objective. Prescribed fire is used to improve the health, appearance, recreational value, and productivity of the land. By using prescribed fire, landowners can restore and maintain forests, shrublands, and grasslands as diverse, healthy ecosystems and reduce wildland fuels loads.
Although landowners can apply prescribed fire to reduce potential for wildfires on their land, sometimes land may be located in areas where fire, even when applied in a prescribed
Has your property been affected by wildfire? Are you unsure about what to do now and who to turn to for help?
Wildfires can be devastating to homes, barns, hay bales, or standing grass when used for winter forage. However, the effects of wildfires on vegetation are usually similar to the effects of prescribed fire. In many cases, wildfires provide valuable control of eastern redcedar and other brush species that have increased in coverage because of fire suppression.
The information contained in this publication includes land management practices that may be used by landowners to implement after experiencing wildfire on their property. The impacts of wildfires will vary between individual landowners and areas impacted depending on many factors.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service are available to answer questions and provide assistance to landowners in dealing with wildfires.
For information on prevention and protecting property such as homes or outbuildings, refer to the Firewise Website at: www.firewise.org/home
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service