It is common practice for land managers to thin forests in the western United States and then masticate fuels by mowing, chipping or mulching the downed trees, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation. The thinning reduces canopy fuels and then mastication redistributes the fuels on the forest floor. Fires burning in the dense, compact fuelbeds that result often burn with lower intensity and shorter flame lengths than fires burning in untreated forests. By performing mastication, managers can potentially reduce extreme fire hazards, decrease fire intensity and provide defensible space for firefighters. However, fires burning in the compact fuelbeds can smolder for longer periods, which can increase soil heating and smoke. Yet the effects of masticated fuels, and the resulting compact fuelbeds, on wildfire behavior are so far poorly understood.