This area, near Mammoth Creek, Utah, has recently been thinned and then followed with a prescribed fire. Ladder fuels and too much ground debris left much of the area, near paved roads and summer homes, an accident waiting to happen. Trees are thinned following specific guidelines, and then the slash (cut wood) is piled and burned when weather conditions are favorable.

Still not convinced? A study on fire behavior, conducted near Flagstaff, Arizona found a dramatic difference between thinned and unthinned stands of Ponderosa Pine. Unthinned stands (avg. 474 trees/acre) were thinned by approximately 77-78 percent, based on estimated forest structure prior to Euro-American settlement and the disruption of fire regimes. Before thinning, fire behavior was simulated under a least severe weather model, and potential fires were predicted to be “…intense but controllable.” *(Fule’, P.Z., et. al. 2001). Keep in mind, though that this was during “desired” weather conditions. Under more severe winds, the fire would be expected to become an intense crown fire, given the fuel densities. Following the thinning all areas resisted crown burning, even when high-wind fuel models were applied.

*Fule', P. Z., et. al. 2001. Potential Fire Behavior is Reduced Following Forest Restoration Treatments. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-2001

Thinning, followed by pile burning is one method to reduce accumulated fuels near urban interface areas.