prescribed burn at Chipera Prairie IA 854A8236
In order to keep Chipera Prairie a prairie, we have to burn it now and then. Only about 20% of the prairie gets burned in any given year, so most overwintering insects like the meadow fritillary have a refuge where they won't be fried. My co-workers are lighting a backfire here, using a drip torch to start the fire systematically along a mowed firebreak. The firefighter in back is spraying water onto the firebreak to keep the fire burning only into the prairie, against the wind so it goes nice and slow.
prescribed burn at Chipera Prairie IA 854A8236
In order to keep Chipera Prairie a prairie, we have to burn it now and then. Only about 20% of the prairie gets burned in any given year, so most overwintering insects like the meadow fritillary have a refuge where they won't be fried. My co-workers are lighting a backfire here, using a drip torch to start the fire systematically along a mowed firebreak. The firefighter in back is spraying water onto the firebreak to keep the fire burning only into the prairie, against the wind so it goes nice and slow.