WASHINGTON — A National Academies committee studying the use of experimental prescribed fires met this year to advance recommendations aimed at improving research on wildland fire behavior and smoke, as federal agencies seek better tools to manage wildfire risks across the United States.
The Committee on Optimizing Research on Experimental Prescribed Fires to Improve Understanding of Wildland Fire and Smoke Behavior, operating under the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, has held a series of meetings in 2026 examining how data from prescribed burns can be more effectively collected, shared and analyzed. The effort is sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense, according to committee documents.
The committee's mandate is to identify opportunities to improve research coordination among federal agencies and strengthen models used to predict fire and smoke behavior. According to the National Academies, the study is reviewing existing research projects, data collection campaigns and modeling approaches used by agencies involved in wildland fire management.
Committee members met in public and closed sessions throughout the year, including a two-day meeting in March and additional sessions in April and May to review draft findings and discuss report development. National Academies records show discussions focused on research gaps, data integration, model interoperability and methods for improving the effectiveness of experimental prescribed-fire campaigns.
According to project materials, the committee is examining whether research conducted by agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Interior can be better coordinated to improve forecasting and operational decision-making.
"The committee will examine how research on experimental fires can be improved to strengthen fire and smoke models for prescribed burns," the National Academies said in a description of the study.
Prescribed burns, sometimes referred to as controlled burns, are intentionally set and managed fires used to reduce vegetation that can fuel larger wildfires. Federal land-management agencies have increasingly relied on prescribed fire as part of broader wildfire mitigation strategies, while researchers continue to study how fire and smoke spread under different environmental conditions.
The committee is expected to produce a consensus report summarizing its findings and recommending ways to improve coordinated data collection, analysis and model development. According to the National Academies, the report will outline how research programs across federal agencies can work more effectively together to improve predictions of wildland fire and smoke behavior. Details on the timing of the final report remain unclear.
