Definitions

Controlled burn, prescribed burn and prescribed fire are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably, however, there are important but subtle differences between their definitions.

In this course, controlled burn, or controlled burning, is defined as the application of fire with the intent to confine it to a predetermined area. A controlled burn does not have a prescription outlining weather and fuel parameters for the fire or resource management objectives. Burning a stubble field is an example of a controlled burn; the landowner does not want the fire to escape the perimeter of the field but probably does not have vegetative management objectives other than to remove the stubble.

Prescribed fire is a fire ignited in natural cover fuels under specified environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and fuel moisture – a prescription. The prescription results in a fire that produces the intensity of heat and rate of spread needed to meet management objectives, while confining the fire to a predetermined area. A prescribed burn or prescribed burning is the application of prescribed fire.