Wildland Fire Risks and Prevention Strategies

Apr 1

In the past 7 years, Kansans have experienced several destructive wildfires. Prior to 2016, devastation from wildfires was minimal and not often reported. The smoke impacts from fires in Kansas were the more serious issue.

Why are Kansans seeing more frequent large wildfires?

Kansas has faced prolonged drought, elevated temperatures in the summer and warmer winters. Brief intense rain showers have little effect on the deeper soil moisture. The fuel or vegetation moisture is not affected by this type of precipitation, making plants more susceptible to wildfire. The drought combined with the warmer temperatures and the Kansas wind has made it where wildfires that would have normally been caught during initial attack are becoming exceptionally large or even mega-fires. These fires are intense and expand quickly forcing firefighters to fall back into point protection (protecting values at risk and not actively suppressing the fire). Other means of fighting fires, such as aviation are effective in some situations, however, when the wind reaches certain velocities, aircraft is grounded for safety of the pilots and firefighters on the ground.

Most of Kansas’s landscape is fire dependent, meaning it needs fire to be healthy and productive. The lack of prescribed fire on the rangelands has allowed woody species to encroach upon historically native grasslands. The largest contributor to this encroachment is the Eastern Red Cedar (ERC). ERC is the only evergreen species native to Kansas and provides effective shelterbelts and windbreaks. However, if not responsibly managed it can become fuel for wildfires. ERC contains volatile oils which are released during fires that make it hard to suppress due to the energy they produce.

New farming practices also provide more fuel for wildfires. No-till farming is great for both soil and water management, though no-till practice leaves residual plant material on the landscape where previously there was bare soil. Historically firefighters could rely on disked fields to stop wildfires, now these fields, which were once fuel breaks, aid in the spread of fires across the landscape.

Lastly, more Kansans are enjoying the outdoors and moving to suburban areas. This increases the amount of people recreating or working on the landscape. Over 90 percent of all of Kansas’s wildfires are human caused. Many of these fires are near urban areas, where people mismanage the use of fires in the form of campfires or debris burning. The Wildland Urban Interface fires can be significantly smaller in size but have bigger consequences due to the values at risk and their proximity to urban populations. These fires are growing in Kansas and pose a real threat.

What strategies can Kansas landowners employ to better prepare for wildfires?

Fuel breaks are a great way for landowners to provide a defensible space and to lower fire intensity. An effective fuel break can be a variety of things; mowed strip, plowed or disked rows, bottom woodlands that stay moist. Mowed strips are the easiest recommendation, the grass is still in places but different vertical arrangement, which can slow the fire and give firefighters an opportunity for successful suppression tactics. Within the mowed strip, haying or raking the grass to the side and allowing the strip to green up will increase the effectiveness of a mowed fuel break. Green live crops could provide a fuel break if there is no dry residual vegetation for the fire to consume and spread. In grass fuels, the fuel break width changes with the height of the adjacent grass. An effective fuel break needs to be 2.5 times the height of adjacent fuels. When planning fuel breaks place them on the windward side of the predominant wind during peak fire conditions. Normally, the south, west and north side. Additional planning considerations are slope, erosion maintenance, fences, and access for fire resources.

Landowners should also manage their shelterbelts and windbreaks. Utilize mechanical, chemical, or prescribed fire to manage the vegetation on your property to ensure that no woody encroachment has crept into adjacent pastures. Around homes remove leaves from gutters and flowerbeds and keep the grass short and watered. Trim trees and thin out woody debris up to 100 feet from your home.

Prior to fire season:

· Contact your local fire department and communicate with them where access points on your property are located. This will reduce damage to fences and save the first responder’s time.

· Contact neighbors and or absent landowners in the area to ensure they are aware of the risks of woody encroachment. Wildfires do not stop at property boundaries and the more landowners prepare their land the more resilient the landscape will become.

· Pay close attention to the local weather conditions. Take caution and be prepared if a fire does start.

· Consider joining your local volunteer fire department. Volunteers are decreasing across the US, and these ladies and gentlemen are the initial attack resource for the majority of wildfires across the state.

The Kansas Forest Service has over 100 years of wildland fire experience through our wildland fire program. We have staff that are experts on prescribed burning, aviation operations, handcrew and engine operations, and wildfire management. One of the staff’s main focus is sharing their knowledge and expertise with fire departments and officials through year-round training opportunities across the state.

We have many publications and resources available on our website to assist landowners prepare for wildfire season. For more information, contact your District Fire Management Officer. Kansas has a DFMO in your area, find out who your DFMO is on the map to the right:

Mark Neely is the Fire Management Officer for the Kansas Forest Service (KFS), and he has been with KFS since 2018. Previously, Mark managed the wildland fire program for DOD on the Fort Riley Military Reservation, along with serving in multiple positions to include agronomist, fish and wildlife biological technician and forester. He has over 20 years of wildfire experience in the state as well as traveling all over the country helping with wildland fires as an engine boss/Taskforce leader and on Incident Management Teams. Mark has also been the burn boss for prescribe fires in Florida, Texas, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Washington.