Fuels treatment is an important component of community wildland fire prevention plans and mulching is a comment method of fuel treatments. Mulching is fuel mastication which coverts vertical fuel structure to horizontal fuel bed to reduce fire intensity and fire behaviour.

Studies have shown fuel treatments alone cannot stop fire. Fuel treatments are most effective when combined with wildfire suppression tactics. Using airtankers to layout wildfire suppression chemical on fuel treatments is one of these wildfire suppression tactics.

Wildfire agencies would like to understand retardant effectiveness in mulch fuels to form better suppression plans.