ErnieMiller Burn

Ernie Miller Park, a prairie restoration area that started with KCWildland's Cedar tree event in 2001, is located on Hwy7 south of hwy10 by ~3mi in Johnson Co., KS
Today was the area's first prescribed burn (since it became a park, anyway). The park was difficult to burn due to its proximity to the hwy, the nature center and nearby neighborhoods. The only wind that would fit it's prescription was an Easterly one- one that is hard to get!

Grant(JoCo parks) identified a pair of phoebes in the grasses and amongst the tall remains of thistles and rattlesnake masters.
Around 10am this morning Johnson co. parks people met a small group of individual volunteers who were fortunate enough to be able to participate. Larry Rizzo, Linda William, Mel Haney, Dick Dawson, myself and my mother. The wind gusted at about 13mph and was more consistent near 5mph. The humidity read ~46%- pretty low for a cloudy, drizzly day. The prairie was fairy small and hosted years of dead fuel-mostly sedge and dead cedars.

Larry and Leon (Ernie Miller) started the burn. Larry led Leon on opposite sides of the burn area to create a bit of a black line using a backfire. Larry ignited a cedar near the line to get it over with. They lit several other large brush piles-dogwood, honeysuckle and cedar that volunteers had cut and piled over the years. A few of the piles were directly on the line and required supervision. The largest pile was in the center of the prairie and let flames grow to over 20'!! Larry was the only one who stuck around close enough to feel that one.

They stripped about 1/2 of the area and then lit a head fire at the border of the Hwy.

The fire roared across the remaining portion of the prairie- flames were about 6' and the heat was intense, though it was all over very quickly. We left a field of blackened brush and rocks- a burnt deer skeleton, two burning wood piles and a whole lot of green. The penstemon is green and the bases of each bundle of grass is getting that way, too.

They finished torching a few standing trees. Mel mentioned the lack of critters fleeing the brush piles and the fire overall. for as much as there was, I guess there should have been something living in there.?
We went over to the plantings surrounding the entrance road and front parking lot. They required little in the way of backfire because both were surrounded by wide trails and roads. They circled the thick grassland and let it do its thing. The fire was loud, hot and fast. it drove over a patch of something that sounded like when you run your finger over a cactus or hair comb- all prickly and such. A small vortex developed on the backside of the fire-carried burning debris and smoke.
A mouse or rat fled the slower part of the fire. He bounced from his stand of grass into the woods near the Nature Center.

Found a pile of pheasant feathers near the car- they're out there!