 Did you know the use of prescribed burning is an important tool to reduce the impacts of wildfires, including smoke? Hi, I'm Brian Wilson with the North Coast Air Quality Management District. Prescribed or controlled burns are conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, tribal nations, timber harvest companies, fire safe councils, and others. Because wildfires are unplanned and burn out of control, their smoke impacts are widespread and unpredictable. By contrast, prescribed fires are highly managed, less intense, smaller and slower moving than wildfires, and for these reasons, they generally produce less smoke.