other than burned up structures, what, if any, bad things come from these grass fires? I would think they would be helpful for grasses and get rid of crappy cedar trees.

winter grazing, very few places wouldn't benefit over time from a burn.

we tend to look short term though and not long term.

Just look at the roadside grass fires and how fast that area greens up afterwards.

Other than structures burning up, no, there is no downside. The place I hunt up in OK does a burn about every 5 or 6 years. It's very healthy for the environment. I would love to burn my place in Navarro county. It really needs it.

Fire is a naturally occurring phenomenon. Grass didn't burn every year, but it did burn a lot more regularly than it does now. Fire suppression has had devastating consequences to the environment, as can be seen in places like California and adjacent areas. A prescribed burn will help your grasslands a lot and livestock and wildlife will benefit from the burns because the grass will green up a lot and be far more consistent and diverse. Long-term it will help you a lot.

Death

Yes, I guess death is bad.

What are yalls thoughts on animals? Are they smart enough to RUN?

There is a difference between wildfire and prescribed fire though. Frequent low intensity fires are what we need. Wildfire during summer drought conditions will not only kill everything, but it may sterilize the soil for quite some time. Thats why old fires can be known as "burn scars", because nothing grows back for a while.

As far as negative impacts from wildfire, the loss of grazing land for ranchers is a main concern. Also, the loss of livestock if they are not able to be relocated quick enough. In East Texas, we are worried about fires burning hot enough to kill trees. Soil stabilization is another concern. Ever wonder why they have mudslides on the west coast? Most of them are from an area that burned recently.

If TXDOT didnt go around herbiciding all of the ditches, we wouldnt have so many road side starts here. IDK why they do that, but it is annoying for us firefighters.

They are to a point, but fences have killed alot of livestock, especially in the panhandle. Most cattle wont go thru a barbed wire fence. Wildlife usually fair pretty well unless they hit a high fence.

Thanks Big Country great info . Thanks for keep the front lines.

I burned a small area of my yard this spring and it greened up faster than the rest.

Traveled from Temple to Hillsboro Yesterday. prob saw 7 burned median areas on I-35.

With the Clown on this, fences can be a pita if uncontrolled tho. As BOBO can attest, very common to burn off in the mountains and mid west, so much so, they have purdy signs they place on the roads warning of such, In NM I've seen them even on I40 a few times

They can be beneficial, but no one I know likes them because they are not predictable. This one last year was going south to north and then the wind switched and it jumped the road and went north to south. I was sitting at my gate ready to leave with what i could carry…

Not if they get shot with Exploding Pellets first.

its weird we burn all time in panhandle, but you seldom see it down here out side of pine management.

This right here.

I'm about to do a soil analysis on my north pasture. After that, I bet I end up lighting it off. It's so poor, I'm not going to mess with attempting a second hay cutting.

I've driven around spraying water. It's going to be the first time I drive around with a pear burner stuck out the window.

Why are there so many median / road side grass fires? I think its from ppl throwing out cigarettes. Is there another reason?

That is the main reason, by a wide margin.

I wouldn't say by a wide margin. Smokers get the blame for roadside fires, but dragging safety chains, flat tires riding on the rim, and faulty vehicle exhaust systems are all contributors. Investigators have found small pieces of mufflers and catalytic converters on roadside fires.

If you are driving down the road and see multiple roadside fires in a short distance, it wasn't a cigarette. Yes, tossing cigarettes out the window is a bad idea, and the blame is always on them, but they are not the only cause.

Responded to one years ago on US 75 south bound from SH 121 in Melissa. Fires every quarter mile, well into McKinney FDs district. They called us for mutual aid. At the southern end was a truck and trailer on the side of the road. His trailer was spitting out hot pieces of wheel bearing.

While the individual causes of roadside fires can vary greatly, it is safe to say the majority of them are caused by dumbazzes.

people still smoke?