Fire management proposed for desert conservation reserves in Western Australia will aim to recreate the fire-induced diversity that is believed to have existed for thousands of years during Aboriginal occupation. Since Aboriginal people no longer practise their traditional nomadic lifestyle, there has been a reduction in the diversity of fire regimes. There exists vast areas of long unburnt and sensescing spinifex (Triodia sp. and Plectrachne sp.) and vast areas burnt infrequently by lightning-caused wildfire. This has probably contributed to the reported decline in native fauna. In order to implement a patch burn strategy to increase habitat diversity, it is necessary to understand fuels and fire behaviour. In the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve, spinifex is the dominant fuel type and its distribution and cover were found to be closely related to landform soils. Detailed measures of fuel characteristics and the behaviour of experimental fires allowed functional models for predicting fire spread to be developed. Spinifex fires were wind-driven and spread rapidly when wind speed exceeded 12–17 kmh−1 at 2 m above ground. The patchy nature of the fuel prevented the development of a continuous fire perimeter. Crescent-shaped head fires burnt a finger-like pattern through the spinifex, unlike the typically elliptical shapes common to fires burning in continuous fuels. Direction of fire spread, hence fire scar pattern, was very responsive to shifts in wind direction.