Seeing Smoke in the Air? Understanding Prescribed Burns & Their Benefits
If you’ve ever seen smoke rising in the distance on a calm fall or spring day, you may have witnessed a prescribed burn or pile burn—a controlled fire intentionally set by forestry professionals. While it might seem counterintuitive to fight fire with fire, prescribed burns are one of the most effective, science-backed tools for maintaining healthy forests and mitigating catastrophic wildfires.
Here’s what to know when you see smoke in the air, and why prescribed burns, and particularly pile burning (one of Alpine Forestry’s specialty services), are vital to the future of Utah’s wildlands.
What Are Prescribed Burns?
A prescribed burn (also called a controlled burn) is a carefully planned fire conducted by trained professionals to achieve specific land management goals. These burns are done under exact weather conditions, with safety crews, specialized equipment, and detailed oversight.
While wildfires are unplanned and destructive, prescribed burns are intentional and beneficial—reducing hazardous fuels, improving soil health, and restoring natural fire cycles that many of Utah’s ecosystems depend on.
Types of Prescribed Burns: Pile, Machine, and Broadcast
Not all prescribed fires look the same. Alpine Forestry primarily conducts pile burns, which involve collecting branches, slash, and forest debris into small, manageable piles and burning them under tightly controlled conditions during cooler months.
Pile burns (our most common method) are ideal for small acreage, HOA communities, and private landowners. They efficiently reduce fuel loads without risking large-scale spread.
Machine pile burns use heavy equipment to consolidate large volumes of vegetation before ignition, often after forest thinning projects.
Broadcast burns cover wider areas but are typically reserved for public lands or large-scale habitat restoration projects—not common in our Park City or Wasatch-area operations.
Each Alpine Forestry burn is led by a qualified Burn Boss and NFPA-certified wildfire mitigation specialist, supported by a trained ignition and holding crew, all operating under state-approved burn plans.
The Science Behind Controlled Fire
For centuries, fire has played a natural role in maintaining forest ecosystems. Many native plants and trees, such as aspen, ponderosa pine, and sagebrush, actually rely on periodic fire to regenerate.
When forests go too long without fire, dead wood, leaves, and brush build up, creating an unnatural fuel load. These conditions make wildfires burn hotter, faster, and more destructively. Prescribed burns mimic the low-intensity fires that historically occurred every few decades, restoring balance to the ecosystem.
How Prescribed Burns Differ from Wildfires
The biggest difference between prescribed burns and wildfires is control. Prescribed burns are planned months in advance, with strict parameters for wind, humidity, temperature, and fuel moisture. Fire lines are pre-cleared, crews are on standby, and every burn has a termination plan.
Wildfires, by contrast, are unpredictable and often start under the worst possible conditions—extreme heat, high winds, and low humidity, making them dangerous and difficult to contain.
In Alpine Forestry’s case, “control” means precision. Each pile burn is test-ignited, then monitored for burn quality and heat. If piles get too hot, our crews use water, snow, and hand tools to consolidate and smooth the material for clean, efficient burning. Most piles self-extinguish naturally, always within our scope and safety standards.
Benefits of Prescribed and Pile Burns
Prescribed burns provide both immediate and long-term benefits to land, wildlife, and communities. These controlled fires help reduce hazardous fuel loads, promoting healthier ecosystems and enhancing biodiversity.
Pile Burning Unique Strategies and Benefits
The vast majority of controlled burns conducted by Alpine Forestry are pile burns. Pile burning in particular offers a low-risk, cost-effective way for private landowners to manage fuels safely fall through spring.
The piles are made from debris left after fuel reduction projects that involve thinning or cutting of trees in the forest, including woody debris, large branch, and slash. Piles are only ignited under optimal conditions, including favorable smoke dispersal and adequate snow cover, which helps contain the piles. We also have a safe time of day cuttoff for all pile burn ignitions.
Reducing Risk of Large Wildfires
By reducing dry brush and dead vegetation, controlled burns eliminate the very materials that fuel extreme wildfires. Fewer fuels mean smaller, slower fires in the future—giving firefighters a better chance to protect homes and lives.
Restoring Soil and Native Vegetation
Low-intensity fires return vital nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to the soil, helping native plants thrive. Many invasive species are fire-sensitive, while native Utah flora is fire-adapted and bounces back stronger after a burn.
Following pile burns, Alpine Forestry also offers premium reseeding services with native grasses and wildflowers, helping landscapes recover quickly and beautifully.
Supporting Wildlife Habitats
After a prescribed burn, new grasses and shrubs emerge, creating fresh food sources and open habitats for elk, deer, birds, and pollinators. These rejuvenated ecosystems promote biodiversity and healthier wildlife populations.
Safety & Planning: How Experts Manage Controlled Burns
Weather, Timing, and Monitoring
Controlled burns are only conducted when weather and fuel conditions align perfectly—typically fall through spring. Professionals monitor temperature, humidity, and wind direction to ensure the fire stays contained. Crews use water lines, bulldozers, and natural barriers to control the spread and continue monitoring the site for days or even weeks afterward.
Community Safety Protocols
Before any burn begins, local fire departments, state agencies, and sometimes even nearby HOAs are notified. Road signs and alerts are posted to inform residents not to call 911 about visible smoke. Public health guidelines are followed during air inversions to minimize smoke impacts and schedule burns when dispersion conditions are favorable. These coordinated efforts keep communities safe and informed.
Alpine Forestry adheres to industry best practices used by land managers worldwide, and we comply with all regulatory requirements by the county and state. We handle all of the prescribed burn planning, permitting, implementation, post burn documentation, fire effects documentation, and post burn rehabilitation.
Addressing Public Concerns About Safety
Following high-profile national incidents like the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, we understand that Utah residents may feel uneasy about prescribed fire. Alpine Forestry’s work is smaller in scale, locally led, and tightly managed from ignition through full extinguishment.
Every Alpine Forestry pile burn is planned, permitted, and executed under strict safety protocols, including:
On-site weather and fuel monitoring
Pre-burn testing and real-time adjustments
Designated burn supervisors and cutoff times
Continuous observation and mop-up phases
Our small, highly trained crews operate with precision and accountability—ensuring fire stays where it belongs.
We recommend residents in our community monitor air quality when controlled burns are happening for health reasons—especially being mindful of spending time outside during inversions when there may be smoke in the air. Most weather apps will provide this information, or check out Purple Air.
Why Prescribed Burns Matter for Utah’s Forests
Utah’s forests and rangelands have become increasingly dense due to decades of fire suppression. Without periodic, low-intensity burns, these landscapes accumulate dangerous amounts of fuel. Prescribed burns restore the natural rhythm of fire, helping forests regenerate and mitigating devastating megafires like those seen across the West in recent years.
For Utah’s landowners, prescribed fire represents both protection and preservation—keeping forests healthy, watersheds stable, and communities safer.
Partnering with Alpine Forestry for Responsible Land Management
At Alpine Forestry, we believe proactive land management is the key to wildfire resilience. Each Alpine Forestry project is led by a certified Burn Boss and NFPA-trained mitigation specialists, supported by a skilled ignition and holding crew. Our team works with landowners, HOAs, and public agencies to plan safe, effective prescribed burns and long-term fuel reduction projects.
We take a holistic approach, blending ecological science with practical risk reduction, to protect Utah’s forests and the communities that depend on them.
If you see smoke in the air this season, know that it may not be a sign of danger, but of renewal. Through collaboration, education, and responsible management, we can keep Utah’s forests healthy for generations to come. Learn more about Alpine Forestry’s prescribed fire services and how our team helps landowners and communities safely use fire as a tool for forest health and wildfire mitigation.
