Vietnam War: Forest Fire as a Military Weapon - Paperless Archives

SECRET
CLIMATE MI-NHSB
MILD WINTER, NON-HUMID, SHORT BURN SEASON
Cool to frosty subtropical and similar climates-nearly frostfree to occasional frosts-having low to moderate
(+) values and low (-) values for the year, 1-4 "B" months. Examples are:
Precipitation No. of Months Yearly Humidity Values
Location Pattern "H_ "D' "B" t H
Rosario. Argen. Steppe 5 0 1 +90 -i
Austin, Texas Steppe I 3 3 +49 -22
(NOTE: This climate and FF-NHSB are of limited occurrence. Warm or hot climates that are non-humid will
usually have a long burning season.)
Temperature: Slows plant growth during winter, but grasses are green at that time.
Precipitation: Limits growth of trees, steppe pattern favors grassland.
Major vegtation ty•s: Grassland with woodland thickets.
Ground-story vegetation: Grass and low shrubs.
Amount: Low to moderate dry weight.
Moisture content: low at end of dry season.
Litter lat:
Mainly current grass production, little accumulation.
Total available fuel weight onaa good burning day: 0.16 pounds per square foot.
Burn days: Fairly definite burning period at the driest locations, but burn days are not predictable under the
moister steppe climates.
Desiccation needs: Not needed except in woodland thickets, which should receive a foliar spray of 3 lý . a.c., of
a 1: 1 mix of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T in diesel oil to make a total of S gallons per acre.
Dates for example location (Austin, Texas, Fig. B9):
I. Spray in late March or early April.
2. Burn in August.
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iSECRET 3.23