Stories

On a cool but sunny Tuesday, the weather conditions were just perfect to make a prescribed burn in Fireworks Prairie. According to the South Carolina Forestry Commission, weather conditions must be as follows:

1. The temperature is less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Humidity greater and 40 percent.
3. Wind speeds of 5-15 mph and measured at 6 feet above the ground surface.

This is not only recommended for your safety but also for the fire’s safety. Fire is a living organism just like us humans. We often forget that. Fire needs oxygen to breathe and fuel to grow. So, to perform an effective prescribed burn, the SC Forestry Commission advice what weather conditions are best.

Fireworks Prairie was planted with native seed mix in 2019 and since then it has been allowed to grow and prosper as it pleases. However, prescribed burns are a great and natural way to manage a prairie as the desired plant community in a given area try to take over. People do controlled burns for lots of reasons such as improving habitat for wildlife, enhancing prairie or forest health, and reducing the risk of a wildfire happening. Here at Carolina Wildlands, our main goal with controlled burns is to improve the habitat for wildlife, maintain the growth and spread of invasive species and to enhance the health of our prairies.

We began prepping for the Fireworks burn by cutting fire breaks through the prairies weeks before actually burning. A fire break or fire line is used as a boundary of the burn area to reduce the fuel along the edge of the area. It acts as the first line of defense if the fire changes directions or gets out of hand.  It is a visible break in the vegetation throughout the prairie. We also hook up water tanks to all our ATVs to have stations around the prairies if needed.

We began the fire by starting a drip line using a torch. Once the fire is lit you slowly follow it and add a little more along the way. It takes a group of us to watch and maintain the burn. Some of us on foot with shovels, others of us on four wheelers with water tanks, riding around in circles watching from all sides. The fire slowly creeps its way to the other side of the prairie. Burning everything in sight. But most plant stalks remain standing. This is because prescribed burns are usually cooler burning fires than normal. But the conditions of the prairie also play a role in how cool or hot it burns.

Within the Fireworks Prairie area, there are a total of 3 separate prairies and two grasslands. All being native. The two grasslands were purposefully left untouched by the burn. The smaller prairie to the left of the dirt road is referred to as Redbanks. A fire break was cut through the middle and around the back portion of the prairie. The back half was the only section burned this time around. The biggest and main prairie, Fireworks Prairie, was cut into three sections with a firebreak. For this go around, the middle section was the only one burned. We wanted to leave parts of the prairie unburned for the wildlife to take shelter in while we lit the fire. Across the headwaters of the pond is Fireworks East Prairie. Which was split into two sections. This prairie desperately needed a controlled burn due to invasive plant species taking over. Our two biggest challenges, the Sweetgum Tree and Loblolly Pine Tree. It had consumed Fireworks East so much that the back section of it started to look more like a young forest than a prairie. Sweetgum Trees are known as pioneer trees, which means they are the first species to mark their territory and make it easier for native grasses and wildflowers to thrive under them. The back section of Fireworks East was the only portion burned. As we said before we left the front half untouched for the wildlife to keep a safe space.

We plan on continuing with the burn schedule to ensure our prairies and grass lands are at their peak health to enhance our wildlife populations. We even caught the prescribed burn on camera with our fancy drone. Check out the video linked below!