Prescribed burning in forestry is a valuable land management tool that has been extensively used in Australia, Eurasia, and North America. Nevertheless, fire is inherently dangerous and may impose risk upon humans, properties, and other natural resources. With the case of southern United States, the objective of this study is to assess the trend of administrative law reforms for forestry prescribed burning within the theoretical framework of management-based regulation. A key finding is that existing regulations focus on the production and management process of prescribed burning to identify and reduce risk. They demand moderate resource commitments, and many are related to the planning stage of a burn rather than the implementation stage. These results will assist the public in comprehending the rationale and trend of administrative law reforms for prescribed burning. Countries facing similar challenges in achieving a sustainable growth of forest resources can also learn from these legal reform experiences for forestry prescribed burning in the United States.