Officials say a prescribed burn stopped the Windy Deuce Fire from entering neighborhoods. But the practice has faced opposition from some landowners.BORGER — Months before the Texas Panhandle erupted with destructive wildfires, fire crews in Borger were igniting fire intentionally on a seven-mile, roughly 250-foot wide ribbon of land on the edge of town.
Before modern firefighting and fire suppression techniques, fires across forests and grasslands were a part of the Earth’s natural cycles. Prescribed burning is an ancient technique still practiced by some Native Americans. In the range ecosystem that dominates the United States from the Texas Panhandle through the Great Plains, land managers and firefighters are recommending prescribed burns to protect communities and restore natural fire cycles.
Long dry and unseasonably hot periods are “where climate change comes in,” said Katharine Hayhoe, a professor at Texas Tech University and chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy. “It's the difference between smaller, more easily contained fires, and really large out of control fires.” Eastern red cedars add to the risk. The trees, native to the Great Plains, were planted in Texas to control normal wind patterns but now provide ready tinder for fast-spreading fires.
The seven-mile prescribed burn near Borger was located on the Four Sixes Ranch, which was a willing partner with the city. But Texas landowners generally are cautious if not reluctant toward prescribed burns. Karen Stafford, a wildfire prevention program coordinator for the forest service, said the city of Borger “set the bar high in showing the effectiveness of prescribed burns and what it can do in community protection.”