RI Environmental Officials Setting Fires To Prevent Large Wildfires

PORTSMOUTH, RI — The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has scheduled planned burnings on Prudence Island and in Coventry and Exeter to reduce the buildup of combustible materials in forests and grasslands, making destructive wildfires less likely.

Depending on weather and wind conditions, the "low severity prescribed fires" will occur either in the last two weeks of March or in the first week of April, excluding weekends, state environmental officials said Thursday.

DEM officials said they would notify the public several days before the fires so residents know about the burn windows. A burn window refers to when the environmental variables, such as fuel moisture and weather conditions, are balanced so that the fire will accomplish its goals.

Goals include:

• Removing invasive and unwanted plant species that threaten ecosystems
• Slowing the spread of pest insects and disease
• Restoring native ecosystems such as pitch pine barrens, pine-oak woodlands, and maritime grasslands and shrublands
• Promoting the growth of native warm-season grasses and wildflowers to diversify pollinator habitats
• Recycling essential nutrients back into the soil
• Training municipal and wildland firefighters in the methods and techniques of suppressing wildfires.

DEM officials said one of the biggest factors in determining a burn window is forecasting the weather. Whereas a 10-day forecast is accurate about only half the time, a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather around 90 percent of the time, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Wind is an equally critical factor. DEM's "go/no-go" decision on which of the burns to conduct will likely come down to wind speed and direction to allow for the optimal dispersal of smoke. As of Thursday, DEM burn managers are targeting parcels at Pratt Farm on the Exeter-Richmond line for the first planned fire of 2023.

"Pratt Farm and the surrounding forestland is a fire-adapted ecosystem that depends on the use of prescribed fire to maintain healthy vegetation and wildlife habitats," Program Manager Pat MacMeekinsaid. "The project at Pratt Farm will be the start of our prescribed fire season this spring. We plan to conduct burning here and at other DEM properties across the state throughout the spring and fall."

MacMeekin described the Pratt Farm fire – which will target one or more parcels at the DEM-run management area – as "a grassland burn, with the goal of removing the grass thatch layer, to open and release the seed bank and promote native, warm season grasses such as little blue stem and big blue stem."

In 2022, which was marked by a severe drought, Rhode Island experienced more than 80 wildfires, according to DEM officials. The drought forced DEM to ban outdoor fires at all state campgrounds, parks and management areas for a two-week period in August.