A prescribed fire is lit with a mix of 3:1 diesel to gas. Historically, natural fires tended to burn in the West during summer and fall. Prescribed fires are conducted in the "shoulder seasons" on either end of summer when conditions are right as in Fall: wildlife has dispersed, the fire fuels are dry, and vegetation has deteriorated.
Prescribed fires are normally lit during autumn or spring, when conditions are right - not too hot or dry and with the right levels of moisture in the soil.
