What is a broadcast burn?

A broadcast burn is a controlled, planned fire applied across most or all of a predetermined land area within defined boundaries. Unlike pile burning, which involves gathering debris into localized stacks, a broadcast burn allows low-intensity fire to spread continuously across natural surface fuels.

Key Characteristics

Application: Fire is spread generally across a wide, uniform area of scattered brush, grass, litter, or logging slash rather than concentrated piles.
Control: Conducted strictly under specific weather, wind, and moisture conditions defined in a formal burn plan.
Scale: Can range in size from less than an acre to tens of thousands of acres.

The Forest Advocate
Santa Fe, New Mexico