Crews initiated a test burn this morning to determine if burn objectives would be met if the full burn were initiated. Although conditions in the field were meeting the prescription in the burn plan, burn objectives did not appear that they would be met due to weather and fuel conditions being on the low end of the prescription.
The burn plan identifies parameters under which fuels should burn to meet objectives safely, such as temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke. Fire specialists compared observations of the test fire to the objectives in the burn plan, and determined that the results were not as expected.
The test burn was extinguished and crews remained on scene to monitor any residual smoke.
For more information on Black Hills National Forest prescribed fire, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/blackhills/landmanagement/resourcemanagement/?cid=STELPRDB5112694
