“You’ve got to fight fire with fire.” It’s an old adage that can literally prove itself true. In fact, a major fire management consideration for BLM fire specialists across Arizona is the vegetation which can fuel a wildfire, and the cautious process used to exam potential hazards.
Fuels are considered any type of combustible material. The primary objective of hazardous fuels reduction or vegetation treatments is to remove enough of this fuel to reduce the risk posed by wildfire. In general, fuels treatments reduce surface fuels and/or maintain healthy forests using thinning and limbing techniques. Treatments have been proven to successfully lessen the severity and threat of wildfires to the public and firefighter safety as well as making fire suppression easier.
BLM fuel program managers examine conditions on public lands to assess potential wildfire hazards. In areas where the risk of a wildfire is high due to vegetative conditions, managers develop strategies to reduce the amount of fuel and improve the health of the land. Once plans are developed they are implemented using a variety of methods.