The spectacular forest preserves in our area add much to our community’s quality of life and are so valued by all of us. That can make it particularly distressing when we see smoke or fire doing what looks like damage to this precious resource. But there is more to the story.

Prescribed burns are essential for the health of the forest preserves. Just like human beings, ecosystems have special requirements for staying healthy. Ecosystems need food, air, water, and, as strange as it may sound, our local woodlands also need fire to survive. A prescribed burn, also called a controlled burn, is the process of using fire under tight restrictions to burn the groundcover in the native ecosystems found in our forest preserves.

More than 200 scientific institutions and land management agencies support and use prescribed fire to maintain natural areas across the United States.Preserve burns are safe, and the coordinators do extensive planning. One of the most important tools of a prescribed burn is up-to-date weather information. Proper weather conditions ensure that the smoke will lift upward into the atmosphere, and burns are canceled if conditions are not adequate for safety. The Cook County Forest Preserve District notifies the local fire department,police department, and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as well as other agencies. Additionally, personnel are on site to talk with residents during each burn to answer questions.