Download (PDF 318 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/26920.pdf
Abstract
Prescribed burning for fire hazard reduction in the chaparral is predicated on the belief that young fuels (20 years old and less) are highly resistant to burning. To test this belief, a data base search of large fires in San Diego County between 1940 and 1985 was conducted to locate reburns of young chaparral fuels greater than 1000 acres (400 ha) in extent. Of the 147 fires examined, 17 (11.6 percent) contained at least one area of young fuels that had reburned. The majority of the reburns occurred under severe weather conditions. The finding that young fuels do not necessarily inhibit the spread of large wildfires may have a potentially significant impact on future fuel management planning and prescribed burning policy.
Parent Publication
Citation
Dunn, Anthony T. 1989. The effects of prescribed burning on fire hazard in the chaparral: toward a new conceptual synthesis. In: Berg, Neil H. tech. coord. Proceedings of the Symposium on Fire and Watershed Management: October 26-28, 1988, Sacramento, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-109. Berkeley, Calif.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station: 23-29
