#pilotmountainprescribedfire

Several prescribed fire burn units are planned to be burned for the spring of 2016. These areas have all been through one dormant cool season burn to reduce fuel loads, with the exception of units that are being managed to encourage Native Warm Season grasses that have been mowed previously.

The goals for each burn unit are different depending on what the fuels are and what the desired future condition of the forest community is. In general most burn units are being managed to encourage dry site trees that grow well in the park’s rocky well drained soil, and that have a fire history but have been fire suppressed for a long period of time. A few examples of trees that like dry, fire prone sites are most oaks, hickories, chinquapin, shortleaf pine, pitch pine, and table mountain pine. These trees while still common in the overstory are being replaced in the understory by shade tolerant trees. During drought years and with a warming climate, shade tolerant trees are not resilient on dry sites. Since the forest regeneration we have all occurred after areas that are now part of the park were in agriculture or cleared for timber and fire has been excluded for so long, the mature trees we have now are growing too closely together with too many trees per acre, which does not allow light into the understory and promotes tree disease. Historically light to medium intensity fires burned over most of the piedmont of NC on an average of every 5 years. This kept the understory open and sunny which allowed a greater diversity of plant species to grow, and greater plant diversity means a greater diversity of animal species. That is what we are managing for, but these forests did not get this way overnight and they won’t return to a desired future condition without a lot more work. Please be patient with our work in progress! All burns are conducted to minimize the amount of lingering smoke by following NC’s Smoke Management Guidelines.  

The following areas are planned to be burned this spring, before the end of May:

Sassafras Ridge- location- Pilot Mountain- acreage - 35 acres

Pilot Creek/Boyd Nelson Rd- 5 acre field burn to promote warm season grasses, monarch butterfly habitat and to reduce invasives. Unit has been mowed.

Bean Shoals Access (Surry County)- Yadkin River Section- two burn units totaling 115 acres, plus several small burns in open fields to promote warm season grasses

Ivy Bluffs Access (Yadkin County)- Yadkin River Section- 45 acres-

Trails and roads leading into burn units are generally closed during burns and if so will be posted. State roads will not be closed, only park maintained roads. Roads adjacent to prescribed burn units will be posted with large “PRESCRIBED FIRE DO NOT REPORT” signs. All burns are mopped up along the edge of the burn units to prevent fire spread, but areas may smolder inside the burn units after a burn as fuels are being consumed. This is normal and it is a goal of the burn as long as weather conditions permit it.

With the rainy fall and early winter behind us we are resuming plans to burn the 65 acre burn unit above the family campground, possibly as soon as this week. On the day of the burn, notifications will be made to local media and emergency communications contacts. US Highway 52 will be posted with signage stating “Prescribed Burn Do Not Report”. The Grindstone Trail and 1 lane of the park road will be closed during the burn. Smoke will be visible from mid morning until late afternoon.The Grindstone Trail will remain closed after the burn until mop up is complete.