East Lansing Fire Dept. fights fire with fire
EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Fire officials were out in the Lansing area today with lit torches in hand. Normally we expect them to put out fires, but today, the goal was starting them.
These officials stressed that there is a difference between good burns and bad burns.
And the techniques behind today’s prescribed burns show us how fire can be used as a tool for rebirth, and not just destruction.
Meridian fire officials say they have been doing burns like this for more than a dozen years, and they are following the example of farmers and natives in our area who have been doing this for centuries.
Grass fire burns at least 200 acres near Jackson Tuesday afternoon
Because of that long history, native plants know how to grow back easily, which makes these burns one of the best ways to destroy invasive species from other parts of the country.
“The idea is to plant native plants that are deep-rooted that will thrive in these wet conditions with fluctuating water that can absorb the runoff from the neighborhood,” said Burn team Leader David Borneman “These species are well adapted to fire and we need to burn them to make sure we keep these systems healthy.”
Tuesday’s burns in East Lansing helped clear away weeds from an important drain, and more burns near Haslet are helping to promote native plants and reduce the risk of more extreme fires.
They also tell me that’s been especially important this year because low snow over the winter leads to long fire seasons.
“This year is kind of a slightly strange window,” said Meridian Township Fire Marshal Tavis Millerov. “Because we really didn’t have a whole lot of snow, so we have kind of been in our quasi-burn season for a little bit now although I think we’re really starting to get into that green up stuff now.”
These crews say they will be doing more burns like this throughout the spring as they are needed.
As a reminder, they are asking you to call your local fire department to check if the conditions are safe before you burn anything like this by yourself.
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