A wildland firefighting tactic where crews intentionally ignite vegetation ahead of an advancing main fire. The goal is to consume the available fuel between a constructed firebreak and the main fire, starving the wildfire of combustible material and halting its forward progress. It requires careful calculation of wind and weather conditions to prevent the new fire from escaping.
Heard on the job
The wind is shifting, so we need to backfire off the ridge road before the main head gets here.
Do not mix it up with
- Counterfire: Backfiring is a large-scale defensive tactic to stop a main fire, whereas counterfire is a broader term for any fire set by crews, often on a smaller scale.