\papertype Original Article While large grazers are well known to alter fire regimes, small herbivore effects on fire have received comparatively little attention. The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a small herbivore that acts as an ecosystem engineer in upland, fire-dependent ecosystems of the southeastern U.S. They dig burrows that locally decrease fire intensity, and these burrows provide a refuge for many animals during fires. Importantly, their burrowing and foraging activities have the potential to modify fire regimes via several mechanisms. Gopher tortoises may actively decrease fire intensity near their mounds, either by reducing plant biomass and/or by altering the flammability of the adjacent plant community. Alternatively, tortoises may preferentially burrow at microsites with relatively nonflammable vegetation and low fuel loads. To test these hypotheses, we leveraged data from intensive monitoring of gopher tortoises at Archbold Biological Station in south-central Florida, USA. We selected 30 existing burrows varying in activity status (active, inactive, abandoned) as well as nearby, non-mound control points. We characterized plant biomass and community composition within 15 m of mounds and non-mound points and quantified 11 fire-related traits for 23 common plant species. Mounds of both active and inactive tortoise burrows had lower plant and litter cover than abandoned mounds and the surrounding vegetation matrix, but these differences in vegetation and litter did not extend beyond the mound itself nor persist following burrow abandonment. Tortoise effects on community-level flammability were minor and unlikely to modify fire intensity. Overall, the highly localized soil disturbance associated with burrowing is likely the primary means by which gopher tortoises may alter sandhill fire regimes. Critically, our study highlights how small animals can shape fire behavior via direct reduction of fuel loads.