A controlled burn is planned for January 17, 2025, on Prudence Island’s South End in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Research Reserve.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) says access to the area might be restricted before, during, and after the burn. The specific areas to be treated will depend on the weather that day.
DEM’s Forest Fire Program, part of the Agriculture and Forest Environment Division, will run the operation. The team follows detailed safety and operational plans created by qualified burn managers.
In 2024, DEM used prescribed fire on 130 acres of state land.
This burn is part of ongoing efforts to prevent wildfires and manage the ecosystem. The Prudence Island Community Wildfire Protection Plan (PI-CWPP), released in 2018 and now under review, suggests the island become a Firewise Community.
For more info about the burn or DEM’s programs, check out www.dem.ri.gov.
