---
title: Prescribed Fire: Planned Burns That Reduce Wildfire Fuel
url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/prescribed-fire/
business: Battle Born Tree Service
address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701
phone: 775.232.8243
hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service
credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured
type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood)
---

- [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/)
- [Arborist glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/)
- Prescribed fire

# What is prescribed fire?

Prescribed fire is the deliberate, planned use of fire on a defined area, set by trained crews under written conditions to reduce fuels or restore a landscape. It is done by land management agencies, not by homeowners or tree companies.

## What it is and what it is not

A prescribed burn has a written plan, a set of weather and moisture limits, trained crews and equipment standing by. If conditions drift outside the plan, the burn is stopped. It differs from a wildfire, which is unplanned, and from [pile burning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/pile-burning/), which burns stacked slash in one spot.

Prescribed fire is one tool beside thinning, mowing and mastication, which are the mechanical ways of cutting [fuel load](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/fuel-load/).

## Why it matters in Northern Nevada

Much of the forest and brush land around our valleys is federal, state or private land managed by agencies that use thinning and, in some places, prescribed fire to reduce fuel. Owners of homes next to that land are affected by the smoke and by the fuel work. The Forest Service and the National Interagency Fire Center publish information about the fires and the programs. See [large wildfires since 1980](https://battleborntreeservice.com/data/large-wildfires-since-1980/).

The land around your own house is a different matter: it is handled by cutting and clearing.

## What an arborist does about it

Battle Born does not do prescribed burning. The mechanical fuel work we do, such as masticating, brush mowing, lot clearing and removal of dead trees, is the kind of thinning that often comes before a prescribed burn and that protects a house in the meantime. See [masticating](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/masticating/) and [lot clearing](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/lot-clearing/).

If a prescribed burn is announced near you, the managing agency posts notices with dates, smoke information and contacts. Those notices, not a tree company, are the place to check timing and closures.

One practical note for neighbors: smoke from a planned burn can reach town on a still day. People with breathing problems should read the agency's notice and plan around the dates it gives.

### Sources

- [USDA Forest Service, Wildfire Risk to Communities](https://wildfirerisk.org/download/) (read October 17, 2026)
- [National Interagency Fire Center, fire perimeter history](https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/) (read October 17, 2026)

### Talk to the office

[775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243)

| Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered |

Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service.

[Free estimate](#quote)

### Keep reading

- [Arborist glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/)
- [Masticating](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/masticating/)
- [Lot clearing](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/lot-clearing/)
- [Wildfire risk to homes in Northern Nevada: what the numbers say](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/wildfire-risk-to-homes-northern-nevada/)

## See also

[Pile burning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/pile-burning/) [Fuel break](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/fuel-break/)