Description

Fire is an essential ecological disturbance, providing many benefits to the environment in terms of wildlife, water and soil quality, and nutrient cycling. Prescribed burning can also be a means of protecting air quality by mitigating the occurrence of large wildfires and reducing invasive species. However, fire produces smoke which contains particulate matter (PM), ozone precursors, greenhouse gases, and other trace gases. Basic Smoke Management Practices (BSMPs) applied on prescribed burns can mitigate the impacts of smoke to public health, public safety and nuisance, and visibility. The six BSMPs discussed in this Technical Note (and summarized in Table 1) have applicability depending on the type of burn, fuels to be burned and level of effort needed to address air quality concerns.