Prescribed fire burns have been placed on hold for 90 days on National Forest Lands.
This comes as a fire in New Mexico has burned 300,000 acres which partially started from a prescribed burn from the U.S. Forest Service.
The Chief says prescribed fires are a tool that helps mitigate future fires and improve forest health, but he has seen a recurring trend in escaped fires. So he wants to take a step back.
“And we’re not sure if the conditions in our climate have outstripped our models or not and so we want to take a good look at our models, looking at the parameters in the model, looking at just a number of things.”
More than 90% of prescribed burns take place during September through May.
Related:
U.S. Forest Service puts a stop to controlled burns... for now
Largest wildfire in New Mexico history is still burning
How to plan for prescribed burning
