Mary and I had the great opportunity to work at a prescribed burn today at Eagle Rock Ranch. The ranch is privately owned but is under a conservation easement and is part of the Texas Land Conservancy.

A prescribed burn, also known as a controlled burn, is a vital part of a land management plan, especially for prairie restoration. The prairie grasses evolved under conditions of regularly occurring natural wildfires. The grasses thrive after a burn and many of their woody or shrubby competitors are removed by the fire.

Prescribed burns are very weather-dependent. This one was originally scheduled for late February and then for yesterday, but was postponed either because of winds or because the fuel was too wet.

A group of about 15 Hays County gathered to help the ranch manager, Pokey Rehmet, with the burn. The field we were burning was surrounded by a dirt and grass road which provided a natural fire break. Our main job was to stand watch at the fire’s edge and make sure the fire did not get past the break.

Preparing the water sprayers.

Pokey used a propane torch to set the fire.

The burn begins.

Here he is burning along the boundary road to form a back burn.

An up-close view of the propane torch.

We stood at the fire’s edge and kept an eye on it. Some of us had water spray bottles, but most had rakes or shovels to help direct the fire.

Mary standing watch.

Once the main fire had passed, we then put out any hot spots so that once we left the area, the fire would not restart.

Putting out a hot spot.

In this shot, the fire is well-underway. You couldn’t stand too near it for too long because of the heat. The wind shifted throughout the burn, so we had to place ourselves strategically to avoid the smoke. This was not always possible though.

The fire is well-underway.

We worked for about two and a half hours. The field burned pretty completely and there were no mishaps. All in all, a successful day!

Most of the field is burned.