However, it is a tame fire comparable to campfires used for warmth or fires for cooking used by humans. Smokey has no quarrel with the use of prescribed fire when it is used by trained and experienced foresters to cure an ailment in the forest or to accomplish a management objective in a specific place and under specific conditions. Prescribed fire is most effective for many management jobs. By killing vegetative growth and promoting palatable species, it provides food for deer that is impossible through other means. It can kill vegetation that may be competing with crop trees without disturbing roots and lower litter.
Prescribed fire has multiple benefits.
The hazard of wildfires is reduced following a prescribed burning. Visibility for hunting, logging and other uses is improved. Wildlife habitat is generally improved and it adds organic matter to coastal plain soils. Prescribed burning is inexpensive, particularly when compared to the cost of other methods. Other methods sometimes have adverse side effects.