Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

North Carolina Forest Service

Smoke Management for Prescribed Fires
Ventilation Index System (VIS)

The Ventilation Index System (VIS) is a method for managing smoke from prescribed burns in North Carolina. This information is
intended to assist those trained as NC Certified Burners in managing smoke from their burns. Prior to conducting a burn, a written
prescribed burning plan should be prepared. Much of the information needed to use VIS for smoke management can be found in a
prescribed burning plan. A simple worksheet is available to assist you at the end of this document.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Locate the ventilation rate and the nighttime smoke dispersion for the burn location from the appropriate National Weather Service (NWS) Fire
Weather Daily Text Forecast website. The ventilation rate formula is mixing height (ft.) X transport wind speed (MPH)=ventilation rate.
2. Determine the Burning Category from Table 1. More information on Burning Categories can be found here.

Table 1: Burning Category

Ventilation Rate Burning Category
0 to 33,499 1
33,500 to 44,999 2
45,000 to 59,999 3
60,000 to 111,999 4
112,000 or greater 5

3. What type of burn will be conducted? – Open: (ex.-site preparation, longleaf pine savannah (approximate basal area ≤40 ft2/acre basal area),
Understory: (ex.-silvicultural burn in loblolly pine or hardwood stand).
4. When you will be burning? – Day Only or Day and Night.
5. Determine location of Smoke Sensitive Areas (SSAs) that your smoke could impact (schools, hospitals, homes, chicken houses, etc.)
6. Determine distance to SSAs (based on wind direction provided by NWS and the burn tract location. Keep in mind down drainage smoke drift
in mountainous terrain or when burning near water features).
7. Using data collected, determine allowable tonnage to be burned from Table 2.

Tables maintained by the NCFS Fire Environment Forester. For information about this page or the NCFS Smoke Management Program contact Cabe Speary at
[email protected], 252-325-3089.
Last Revised 8/13/2015
 Table 2: Smoke Management Tonnage Table
Burn
Category 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5
Burn Type None Open Understory Open Understory Open Understory Open Understory Open Understory Open Understory Open Understory Open Understory
Night time Poor, Poor Poor to
Poor or Good Good to Poor to Good to Good to Poor to Poor to Good to Good to Poor to Good Good to
Smoke Any Very to Very Very
Very Poor to Fair Fair Very Poor Fair Fair Very Poor Very Poor Fair Fair Very Poor to Fair Fair
Dispersion Poor Poor Poor
Day Day or Day or Day or Day or Day or Day Day or Day or
Time of Burn Day Only Day Only Day only Day Only Day Only Day Only Day or Night Day Only
Only Night Night Night Night Night Only Night Night
Distance to
Smoke MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE TONS OF FUEL THAT MAY BE BURNED PER DAY PER 16,000 ACRE
Sensitive
Area (miles) SQUARE BLOCK (25 SQUARE MILES) DURING DAYLIGHT AND/OR NIGHTIME BURNING.
0-1/2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1030 0 0 0 1350
½-5 0 360 720 720 1080 450 900 900 1350 720 1440 1440 2160 900 1800 1800 2700
5-10 0 720 1440 1440 2160 900 1800 1800 2700 1400 2880 2880 4320 1800 3600 3600 5400
10-20 0 1080 2160 2160 3024 1350 2700 2700 4150 2160 4320 4320 6480 2700 5400 5400 8100
20-30 0 1200 2400 2400 3600 1600 3200 3200 4800 2500 5000 5000 7500 3000 6000 6000 9000
30+ 0 1440 2880 2880 4320 1800 3600 3600 5400 2880 5760 5760 8640 3600 7200 7200 10800

8. Estimate total tons of available fuel to be consumed in burn from Table 3. More information can be found here. If you are not confident in
making this determination, contact your local NCFS office for assistance.

Table 3: Estimating Forest Fuel Loading

Estimated Available Tons Per Acre*
Fuel Type Low Medium High
Pine litter 3 6 12
Hardwood Litter 3 5 7
Mixed litter 4 6 8
Brush < 2 ft. 4 7 10
Brush 2 - 4 ft. 6 8 15 *This information is based on results of actual sample
measurements and has represented accurately the fuel
Brush > 4 ft. 10 20 30 availability based on the selected loading range. Research studies
and surveys that provide more accurate site-specific information
Light (thin) slash 5 10 20 concerning tonnage or fuel availability can be used.
Medium (chopped) slash 10 20 40
Heavy (clearcut harvest) slash 30 40 60
Short grass/Wire grass 2 5 7
Tall grass/Broomsedge/Marsh grass 3 6 8

Tables maintained by the NCFS Fire Environment Forester. For information about this page or the NCFS Smoke Management Program contact Cabe Speary at
[email protected], 252-325-3089.
Last Revised 8/13/2015
 9. If your burn will exceed the allowable tonnages in the above chart, you will need to alter your plans (cancel the burn, decrease acreage to be
burned, change time of burn, etc.)
10. If you determine your burn will not exceed the allowable tonnage, and you decide to burn, call the local NCFS District Office on the day of the
burn to give them your smoke management information. Remember, these allowable tonnages are for a 25 square mile block. If others are
burning within the same block at the same time, you may need to alter your burn plan.
11. Follow the Smoke Management Guidelines shown below while executing your burn.

Smoke Management Guidelines

Category 1:
No burning allowed under VIS.

Category 2:
Burning is usually only during the Daytime. Burning starts after the inversion is no longer present. If Nighttime Smoke
Dispersion (NSD) is poor, burning will cease by sunset and when NSD is very poor, the active fire burning and significant smoke
production will cease two hours prior to sunset. At these times the fire should be appreciably burned out with smoke production
substantially ended. If the forecast NSD is fair or good, then burning past sunset is permissible.

Category 3:
If an inversion is present, then ignition of the burn must be delayed until after the inversion is no longer present. If NSD is
predicted to be poor then burning will cease by sunset and when NSD is very poor the active fire burning and significant smoke
production will cease two hours prior to sunset. If forecasted NSD is poor or very poor, only daytime burning is allowable. The
fire should be appreciably burned out by the end of this time frame, with smoke production substantially ended.

If the NSD is fair or good, then daytime burning (all hours) and nighttime burning are permissible. If nighttime burning is
allowed, ignition prior to receiving the new category day the following morning will be allowed based on the current category
day. All burns (including those ignited earlier that morning) must comply with the new category day when issued.

Category 4:
Daytime burning (all hours) and night time burning is permissible with forecasted fair or good NSD. Night time ignitions prior to
receiving the new category day the following morning will be based on the current category day. All burns (including those
ignited earlier that morning) must comply with the new category day when issued.

If the forecasted NSD is poor, burning will cease by sunset and when the NSD is very poor, burning will cease two hours prior to
sunset. If forecasted NSD is poor or very poor, then only daytime burning will be permitted. The fire should be appreciably
burned out by the end of the respective time frames with smoke production substantially ended.

Tables maintained by the NCFS Fire Environment Forester. For information about this page or the NCFS Smoke Management Program contact Cabe Speary at
[email protected], 252-325-3089.
Last Revised 8/13/2015
Category 5:
Daytime burning - (all hours) and night time burning is permissible with forecasted fair or good NSD. Night time ignition prior to
receiving the new category day the following morning will be based on the current category day. All burns (including those
ignited earlier that morning) must comply with the new category day when issued.

If the predicted NSD is poor then, burning will cease by sunset and when the NSD is very poor, burning will cease two hours
prior to sunset. If forecasted NSD is poor or very poor, then only daytime burning will be permitted. The fire should be
appreciably burned out by the end of the respective time frames with smoke production substantially ended.

Organic Material - Residual Burning

When organic material is ignited during prescribed burning activities, and the material continues to burn, a daily evaluation will
be made to estimate the acres continuing to burn within a given 16,000-acre block and approximate daily tonnage that will be
consumed. The standard daily burning rate of undisturbed organic material is 16 tons/acre/day. This assumes that one solid acre
burns at the same rate of approximately one inch per day. Adjustments to the daily burning rate of organic material and to the
actual number of acres on fire are necessary to actually assess the impact or residual burning within each 16,000-acre block. The
tonnage derived from residual burning will be subtracted from the available total tonnage each day to determine the adjusted
tonnage that can burned within the 16,000 acre block.

More detailed Smoke Management information can be found on the Smoke Management Plan Tech Notes website.

Tables maintained by the NCFS Fire Environment Forester. For information about this page or the NCFS Smoke Management Program contact Cabe Speary at
[email protected], 252-325-3089.
Last Revised 8/13/2015
VIS Smoke Management Worksheet for ___________________________ Burn. Date:________________

Instruction
1 Ventilation Rate:______________
1a Nighttime Smoke Dispersion:__________________
2 Burning Category:______________
3 Type of Burn:_________________
4 Day or Day and Night?:___------_________
5 Location of SSAs (compass direction from burn):____________
6 Distance to SSAs (miles):________
7 Allowable tonnage:_________
8 Available tons to be consumed:_________

Tables maintained by the NCFS Fire Environment Forester. For information about this page or the NCFS Smoke Management Program contact Cabe Speary at
[email protected], 252-325-3089.
Last Revised 8/13/2015