Drip Torch Ignition

Forestry technician Hannah Blanke uses a drip torch to ignite a prescribed burn at Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. While the majority of ignition is performed aerially with a helicopter, hand-held ignition methods like this one are often used around the perimeter of the burn for precision. These prescribed burns are ecologically necessary for the plants and animals in the longleaf pine ecosystem, and reduce fuels that could be accidentally ignited due to lighting strikes or military training operations. FireSense, the Department of Defense, and their partners use prescribed burns such as this one to develop and test tools and technology to make wildland fire management safer and more effective.