PT72.S1.Q3 - Wildfires

Ashley2018-1

How can I tell what type of fire "maintenance burns" is referring to?

Admin Note: https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-72-section-1-passage-1-questions/

canihazJD

I remember that passage. If you aren't familiar with the term, you have to infer from the context of line 50 on to the end. But basically a maintenance or "controlled" burn is a fire intentionally set my management personnel to clear the area of clearing potential fuel. Basically the theme of the passage... they're just saying once they get it to a safe level, they'd need to continue to do burns every so often to maintain.

All that to say, basically the preceding sentence tells you what they are - intentional lighting of controlled burns... just at a regular interval "once fuels are reduced".

Ashley2018-1

I did hover over E, but didn't like the "naturally" set fires
why does it include that? My impression of maintenance from the passage is as you said, it is intentionally set by people

canihazJD

They can be either. If they are caused naturally and perform the role of a maintenance fire, they are just allowed to burn "when the weather is damp enough to reduce the risk..." The important part is the function of clearing out fuel material.

In my previous post I was talking more in terms of how it's commonly used in forested areas in my experience... lightning strikes that start fires aren't as common an occurrence. On Fort Bragg, there's a truck with a flamethrower mounted on it that just rolls around starting fires in training areas for this purpose. It has the secondary effect of making for some pretty surreal training landscape.

Ashley2018-1

The line before 55 talks about fires that were set intentionally and ones that were allowed to burn so is that how we are supposed to draw the link between maintenance burns and both of these types of fires?

canihazJD

They both serve the same function. Like we'll burn area X every year to keep dry brush down, but oh, we have a fire burning from a lightning strike today in that area so lets just let it burn so we dont have to start a controlled burn later. 55 is just saying "these fires we just talked about in the previous sentence - once the fuel levels are low, they only need to happen every 15-20 years in order to maintain low fuel levels (as opposed to actively reducing them)."

Ashley2018-1

I originally thought maintenance burns was referring only to intentionally set fires because in the phrase right before it it says "once fuels are reduced by these fires" and fuels means buildup of brush and I thought "these" fires was referring to both natural and intentionally set

Ashley2018-1

am I approaching this the wrong way? is maintenance burns not only referring to the specific type of fire (natural versus intentionally set/man-made) but to the purpose of the fire, to "maintain" the forests (clear out extra brush so when fires happen they don't get out of control?)

canihazJD

@"ashley.tien" said:
am I approaching this the wrong way? is maintenance burns not only referring to the specific type of fire (natural versus intentionally set/man-made) but to the purpose of the fire, to "maintain" the forests (clear out extra brush so when fires happen they don't get out of control?)

Yes "maintenance" is the purpose/effect of the burn - they are maintaining the state achieved by the efforts described from line 50, but now these fires only need to occur every 15-20 years.