Prescribed Burn at Katama Keeps Fire Risk Low
Prescribed burns increase public safety, improve habitat, and help restore the landscape.
Prescribed burns increase public safety, improve habitat, and help restore the landscape.
Columns of smoke, from fires set for ecological purposes, have grown increasingly familiar to Vineyarders.
Columns of smoke, from fires set for ecological purposes, have grown increasingly familiar to Vineyarders.
Chilmark fire chief Jeremy Bradshaw participated.
Chilmark fire chief Jeremy Bradshaw participated.
Plants may lose their top growth to a burn but retain the ability to regrow.
Plants may lose their top growth to a burn but retain the ability to regrow.
Clear day with little wind kept fire under control.
Clear day with little wind kept fire under control.
Thumbs up for controlled burns!
Thumbs up for controlled burns!
Burn keeps runway and surrounding land clear for planes.
Burn keeps runway and surrounding land clear for planes.
Members of Martha's Vineyard Prescribed Fire Partnership kept fire under control.
Members of Martha's Vineyard Prescribed Fire Partnership kept fire under control.
Katama Air Park in Edgartown has seen burns almost annually since the site was protected for conservation in the 1980s.
Katama Air Park in Edgartown has seen burns almost annually since the site was protected for conservation in the 1980s.
Haze over Katama.
Haze over Katama.
The Vineyard's sandplain has a long history of fires, which shaped the ecology of the habitat. Fire suppression interrupted the pattern, threatening rare wildlife that is adapted to frequent fires. The prescribed burns restore the fire-dependent natural communities and enhance public safety by reducing overgrown, potentially-flammable habitat.