At Timberhill fire season begins after oak leaf drop in mid-November and ends when we have completed prescribed burns on all 200 acres of woodland and prairie. In a good year we will accomplish that by March 15 during the dormant season, but sometimes the season extends into the first week of April. In 2010 we completed our burns on April 1.
When Bill and I began restoring our oak savanna we thought it would be enough to eliminate the brush and thin the overstory. We had no idea that we would also have to implement annual prescribed burns. Like many people we thought fire would damage our woodlands and destroy good trees. But fire only damages the trees that don’t belong. The thick bark and deep roots of the oak trees give them high fire resistance. Oak savanna is a fire dependent habitat and fire is essential to the woodland ecology. In other words you can’t restore savanna without fire. Not only do the low intensity woodland fires consume the accumulated leaf litter and accelerate the return of nutrients to the soil, but they also stimulate germination and release plants that have been suppressed by lack of fire and sunlight. Before we began restoration the Timberhill plant list contained 100 species. Without doing any seeding the plant list now contains over 450 species.
Low intensity woodland fire
Bill and I tried to find someone to do the burns for us but after a year of fruitless searching we realized that we would have to do it ourselves. It was with a great deal of trepidation that we began prescribed burns in 1995. With the help of our friend, Bill Craig, our first burn was in the south meadow. We divided it into miniscule sections and burned a little at a time. As we became more experienced and acquired the proper equipment we were able to burn much larger units. The key to doing it yourself with a few volunteer helpers is having good fire breaks and the right equipment. At first our only equipment were a couple of Solo backpack sprayers, and a 3-point hitch sprayer for the tractor. We borrowed drip torches and fire brooms from the Decatur County Conservation Board. Since then we have acquired our own drip torches, fire brooms, a utility vehicle and ATV both fitted with spray tanks, a trail mower (for mowing fire breaks) and a leaf blower.
Backfire along south trail firebreak
In the above photo the green strip on the left is the south trail which runs along our south fenceline. The trail has been prepared as the baseline for this burn. Using a leafblower one of the crew has blown all the leaves off the trail. Now the man in front is lighting the backing fire which will burn into the wind and establish a wide buffer strip to prevent the fire from spreading to the neighbor’s property south of the baseline. The water tank on the ATV will be used to put out any flames that spread into the firebreak.
Timberhill Aerial Map
In the above aerial Timberhill is outlined in yellow. The house and pond are in the center of the photo surrounded by short grass. We divided our property into four burn units: Unit #1 is the timber east of the house and driveway down to Brush Creek, Unit #2 is the woodland west of the driveway, Unit #3 is the West 40 south and west of the house and pond to West Creek which meanders along the west edge of the west woodland, Unit #4 is west of West Creek. We are fortunate to have four people who can help us with the first burn which is always in Unit 1, east of the house. That burn then becomes a firebreak for the remaining burns. In a good year we are able to complete prescribed burns in the first three units by January 1. Experience has taught us that the West Creek unit which contains a lot of prairie openings burn best after snow melt.
West Creek Fire