Prescribed Fire is used to simulate the occurrence periodic natural fires. This vegetative management tool is used to maintain fire dependent ecosystems and restore vegetation. Generally, low intensity prescribed fire, is applied by trained experts to clear ground of dangerous fuels like dead wood and brush. This low-intensity fire is vital to the life cycles of fire-dependent range and forest lands.

Crews using a drip torch, a hand-carried device that pours out a small stream of burning fuel, light most prescribed fires. Helicopters carrying a gelled fuel torch (helitorch) or a sphere dispenser machine that drops material to ignite the surface fuels in forest and range types are also used. Exactly how each fire is ignited depends on weather, the lay of the land, and the intensity of the fire needed to meet the goal of the fire.