Plots receiving 27 years of annual and 5-year periodic prescribed surface fires were compared to nonburned controls in the oak forests at Highland Rim Forestry Station. Stand overstories were dominated by post oak (Quercus stellata), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), and southern red oak (Q. falcata), and six other tree taxa. Total tree stem density decreased 21 percent, 47 percent and 48 percent in control, periodic and annual burns, respectively. Basal area increased 36 percent on control plots, increased 14 percent on periodic burn plots, and decreased 5 percent on annual burn plots. Understory stem density decreased 51 to 82 percent among all treatments over the period. Annually burned plots had a grass dominated understory, and 88 percent of the sapling size stems were winged sumac. On control plots soil pH in 1989 was significantly lower than in annual or periodic burn plots. Use of the shrubgrass dominated understory by game animals should be investigated.