Long term study finds combination of prescribed burns, thinning effective at reducing wildfire risk

Boise State Public Radio News | By Murphy Woodhouse

Published March 18, 2024 at 11:18 AM MDT

A Bureau of Land Management firefighter ignites areas of heavy, downed juniper jackpots during the 2019 Trout Springs Prescribed Burn in Owyhee County, Idaho.

Prescribed fires and mechanical thinning efforts are increasingly common land management tools intended to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. But research into their long term effectiveness is somewhat limited. A recent study looked at the effects of such interventions over more than 20 years on a dry, low-elevation research forest in Montana, and found that the combination of thinning and burning was the most likely to reduce fire risk.

Prescribed fires and mechanical thinning efforts are increasingly common land management tools intended to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. But research into their long term effectiveness is somewhat limited. A recent study looked at the effects of such interventions over more than 20 years on a dry, low-elevation research forest in Montana, and found that the combination of thinning and burning was the most likely to reduce fire risk.