The City that Used to Work

They were burning the parks on the north side this afternoon.  City workers were just standing around watching the fire.

Comments

[Eric]

I think you may have caught them loafing around in one of the few situations where that's what they're supposed to do. God forbid they step away and we end up with a wildfire!

[Dude]

Isn't that a controlled burn of some sort? Yeah, like the other guy said, "standing around" is one component of a controlled burn.

[withrow]

I was kidding around.

I think I saw a notice that Nichols was slated for a controlled burn. I assume it has something to do with providing a proper environment for native species. If anyone knows more about the reasons for the controlled burns, I'd be interested in hearing the specifics.

[george]

Editor's Note: This comment bumped up to article status and is available here: http://alwaysintransit.typepad.com/hyde_park_urbanist/2008/04/why-we-must-bur.html

HPKCC has a whole page on it (with pictures) in the parks section at http://www.hydepark.org/parks/nichols/nicholsburn.htm

Here's the summary:
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The Chicago Park District uses controlled burn management to help maintain native plant communities. A controlled burn is the use of fire as a management tool in a carefully planned and controlled manner. Controlled burn management is an efficient and economical tool that reduces the amount of pesticides that otherwise may be needed to control invasive plants. Fire helps to promote species diversity by controlling invasive woody shrubs and trees. Without fire, natural areas often become thickets of shrubs or weeds with little diversity. Fire burns off dead vegetation and stimulates new plant growth by allowing sunlight to warm the dark soil, encouraging germination. Fire also enriches the soil by returning nutrients back to the soil.

Research shows that fire is a natural part of native Illinois ecosystems. These landscapes need to be burned periodically in order to stay healthy and to provide habitat for native plants and animals. All persons who conduct controlled burns are specially trained, equipped, and supervised.
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We try to do it in Nichols Park every other year. Feel better, now?