The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is redeploying a mascot to help focus on “good fire” – or prescribed burns.
Around 1950, state forestry staff first developed the mascot “Torchy Timberloss” to educate the public about fire prevention. In the late 1970s, a revived Torchy was displayed on staff identification tags during out-of-state firefighting efforts. Now, Wisconsin is using Torchy as an ambassador to help prevent human-caused accidental fires and explain the benefits of safe prescribed burns, including planned low-intensity burns conducted by DNR fire crews and other trained practitioners to help ensure the health of certain ecosystems. Benefits of good fire include removing invading brush, decreasing leaf litter and dead grass, and promoting the growth of native, fire-dependent vegetation.
For more about Torchy, check out pages 60-61 of this link in the Spring 2026 Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine.
