Maybe you've seen that where you live. At the Pope Farm Conservancy and many other grassy areas around Wisconsin and the upper Midwest, you may see fire fighters actually lighting some.
Just when your inner Smokey Bear is screaming, "Only I can prevent wild fires!" Hold on a second, prescribed burns are good things and valuable tools.
In controlled burns, the fire serves an important function. It gets rid of grass and dead vegetation and kills woody plants. The fires make it easier for native grasses to populate and allows the slow growing oak trees to grow instead of getting shut out by soft wood trees like maple and basswood.
Less woody plant life meant more fruit bearing shrubs to Native Americans who started grassland fires if lightning wasn't getting the job done naturally. The grasslands are also great for bluebirds and grouse.
You can't start one of these on your own. It requires lots of planning and informing law enforcement and fire officials and your neighbors. When we lived in north Wisconsin, city volunteer fire fighters each spring did a prescribed burn in the marsh surrounding the creek that flowed through town.
I recall it not only cleaned things up, it created a more diverse habitat for plants and small creatures.
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