A fire trail is a rural road built specifically for the purpose of access for "fire management purposes" including building containment lines and

backburning A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A control ...

operations. The term is part of the vocabulary of Australian bushfire control and may also sometimes be known as a ''fireroad'' in US terminology. A fire trail may act as part of a ''control line'' or

fire break A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...

but a fire trail in itself does not constitute a fire break. In

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where "fire trail" is the preferred term, it frequently refers to the unpaved roads built for wildfire control on undeveloped urban hills and foothills rather than those in rural regions. Local residents in urban communities such as

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, and the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

use them for hiking. As fire trails provide access to otherwise remote areas, they suffer from adverse effects including: illegal activities, erosion,

noise pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mai ...

, weed invasion, and stuck vehicles. As the fire trails are unpaved, contour banks are essential to control erosion and track degradation. Bicentennial National Trail

References

External links

"Access"
NSW Rural Fire Service, Building in Bushfire Prone Areas {{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Trail Bushfires in Australia Fire suppression Wildfire suppression