Training

• Some departments of natural resources or fire departments provide training sessions for private landowners who want or need to burn acreage or weeds in ditches. Fire is a powerful phenomenon and an entire science exists around its behavior and control. The fire professionals may conduct classes or schedule training sessions on the site that the landowner wants to burn. When conducting these burns, the fire authority brings firefighting equipment with them in case the fire gets out of control.
  
  

Communications

• Cell phones or cordless phones with a long range are a must when burning land. Being able to communicate with others can make the difference between controlling a fire and being able to warn others of a situation that grows dangerous. Charging the batteries before burning land is a good idea to be certain that you have power to last throughout the entire burn event.
  
  

Weather

• One of the biggest concerns associated with burning tracts of land is the weather. Burning when air pollution is high adds to the pollution. If the day is exceptionally windy, fire can spread quickly and outside the boundaries of the intended burn. The temperature and humidity also dictate the optimal conditions for burning. Fires burn faster in hot, dry weather. In May 2000, the Cerro Grande fire in Los Alamos, New Mexico started as a controlled burn that raged out of control because dry winds came up during the burn and pushed it into areas outside the prescribed burn area. It ended up destroying 47,650 acres and 400 homes.
  
  

Fire Lines

• Putting down a fire line before staging the fire helps keep it under control. Tilling up a swath of land can stop a fire from spreading to other properties, as can wetting down a strip of land with fire retardants, foam or water. When landowners get their permits for the controlled burn, the issuing agency also informs the burner what he can do to minimize the risk of spreading the fire.
  
  

Tools

• Equip the people who help you conduct the fire with tools that can help fight the fire if it gets out of hand. Provide shovels to help dig barriers to the fire and use the back of the shovel to suffocate a patch of burning weeds. Picks also help build fire lines, as do hoes. Accessing water can be difficult when burning fields or ditches far from a hose, so stationing containers of water near the periphery of the fire area helps douse a fire creeping past its boundaries.
  
  

Insurance

• Having enough liability and building insurance is important when staging a fire. Check with the insurer on its policies regarding burning land, and find out what to expect if an emergency occurs. You can also learn what their stipulations are for any liability you incur for injuries sustained on your property by people helping you, including any fire or natural resources employees.