GLOCESTER – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has announced that the agency plans to conduct low-severity prescribed burns on state lands, including Durfee Hill Management Area in Chepachet.
Prescribed or planned burning is a tool that natural resource managers use for maintaining habitat diversity and to protect communities from extreme fires by reducing hazardous natural fuels. A release on the plan this week noted that wildfires are expected to become more frequent in Southern New England due to climate change, and that DEM is responding by increasing the use of low-severity prescribed burns to reduce the build-up of combustible materials on forest floors and grasslands and by offering specialized wildfire training classes to build staff and volunteer capacity.
The agency did not specify this week exactly when the Glocester burn will take place. Typically, prescribed burns are announced a day in advance due to weather and wind conditions. The release noted that RIDEM will advise the public once it has identified a reliable “burn window” in which to conduct the fire operation. The agency said it will notify Rhode Islanders by social media posts and by distributing flyers to abutting landowners and neighbors.
A burn window refers to when the environmental variables such as fuel moisture and weather conditions are balanced so that the fire will accomplish its goals, which include reducing fuels, modifying wildlife habitat, and restoring ecological function while remaining under control. DEM’s “go/no-go” decision on which of the burns to conduct is often determined by wind speed and direction, to allow for the optimal dispersal of smoke. The first prescribed burn of 2025 has been scheduled to take place on Prudence Island on Friday, Jan. 10, ahead of DEM’s Forest Fire Program’s spring prescribed fire season.
Durfee Hill, which is accessed by Reynolds Road and abuts the George Washington Management Area in Connecticut, is a 2,104 swath of forested land utilized locally for hiking, hunting, birding and more. Additional burns are expected at Pratt Farm in the Arcadia Management Area in Exeter, Nicholas Farm Management Area in Coventry, Big River Management Area in West Greenwich, Dutch Island in Jamestown, Carolina Management Area in Richmond and Great Swamp Management Area in South Kingstown.
In 2024, DEM reportedly treated 130 acres of state property with prescribed fire, nearly a threefold increase from 2023. In 2024, DEM also conducted shaded fuel break brush clearing projects along various stretches of forestland on state lands to lessen the risk of uncontrolled wildfires.
“By increasing its use of prescribed fire, Rhode Island is better aligning its land management policies and practices with neighboring states,” noted RIDEM. “Among other benefits, common ecological restoration goals with other states help to strengthen climate change resilience across southern New England.”
Experts from DEM’s Forest Fire Program, a subsidiary of DEM’s Division of Agriculture and Forest Environment, lead the prescribed burns. RIDEM noted that a “burn boss” will employ detailed operational and safety plans, with site preparations in place before a burn is conducted. Fire behavior, fuels, and weather are monitored throughout the burn, and if the prescription parameters are exceeded, the fire is shut down. RIDEM burn managers have reportedly obtained the required local permits and an exemption from state air pollution control regulation Part 4: Open Fires Managers also have communicated with the towns Fire Chiefs, Rhode Island Southern Firefighters League, US Fish and Wildlife Service, DEM’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, and the DEM’s Office of Air Resources.
For updates from RIDEM including the announcement of details regarding the planned burn in Glocester follow RIDEM on Facebook, Twitter/X or Instagram.
