hazard reduction burn

Australian term for a controlled, low-intensity burn conducted deliberately to reduce fuel loads and lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Unlike a fierce wildfire, a cool burn is intentionally managed at a temperature and speed that allows native animals to escape and vegetation to recover quickly. The practice is closely tied to Indigenous land management traditions that have been used across Australia for tens of thousands of years, and is now widely advocated by fire ecologists and Indigenous rangers.

(Australia, New Zealand) An uncontrolled fire in a wooded or grassy area; a wildfire.

(Australia) A controlled burn.

(transitive) To destroy by fire.

The part of a fireplace where the fuel is burned.