Highlands County residents know about prescribed burns. So far this year, the Florida Forest Service has authorized 1,400 burns covering 52,000 acres.
“Prescribed fire helps keep Florida’s natural habitats healthy and protects Floridians and visitors by reducing the overall risk of wildfire,” Putnam said. The Florida Forest Service burned more than 246,000 acres of state forests over the last 12 months, the highest ever reported by a state forestry agency in U.S. history.
“In Florida we have a three-year burn rotation,” said Trevor Taylor, forest area supervisor.
But, depending on the rain, green grass and palmetto will sprout in a few weeks. The forest service doesn’t replant, Taylor said. “It’s just a natural mechanism.”
This year, local cattlemen have burned 420 times to manage over 23,000 acres pasture or ranges, according to statistics forwarded by Taylor. Citrus growers burned 800 times in 2,030 brushpiles to get rid of dead or diseased trees.
Trees, birds and mammals rarely die, Taylor said.
“It all depends; a weak tree, infested by bugs, it’s possible it could die,” TayIor said. But at certain times of the year, forests are burned to open up habitat for scrub jays and woodpeckers. Eight burns over 795 acres were prescribed for local wildlife; another 98 burns over 26,000 acres were for the ecology or hazard removal.
The Florida Forest Service uses prescribed fire as a safe way to apply a natural process to ensure ecosystem health and reduce wildfire risk.
“Last year, we were fortunate to experience many days with conditions favorable for prescribed fire. Conditions can change quickly and drastically in Florida, so the Florida Forest Service has made it a priority to take advantage of these favorable conditions whenever they are present,” said Florida State Forester Jim Karels.
Ideal conditions depend on which way the wind is blowing, Taylor said. Foresters purposely wait for days when the wind is moving away from highways, cities, hospitals and power lines.
Before humans invented fire departments, nature started its own fires. Lightning, a frequent occurrence during the rainy season, cleared the underbrush. Now humans prescribe burns.
“Prescribed fire is an important land management tool used to reduce the buildup of flammable plant materials that fuel and intensify dangerous wildfires,” said a Forest Service news release. “The reduction of hazardous buildup results in increased safety for surrounding areas.”
Florida is in no danger of becoming like California, said Taylor, who just returned from 21 days of fighting the 72,000 acre River Complex fire near Redding. California is in the middle of a long drought; the area where Taylor worked is part of a 200-mile long national forest; and the northern third of the state is mountainous. Florida is flat, and Southern Florida has received more than 40 inches rain during the rainy season, according to water district statistics.
Florida’s plant and animal communities depend on regular fires for a healthy existence, the Forest Service said. Prescribed fires mimic this natural process, returning nutrients to the soil, providing better forage for wildlife and livestock, and helping control certain plant and tree diseases. Cattle even get more protein from the grass, Taylor said.
In addition to administering Florida’s prescribed fire program, the Florida Forest Service responds to wildfires during Florida’s year-round wildfire season. This year, more than 2,000 wildfires have burned more than 65,000 acres in Florida.
The Florida Forest Service manages more than a million acres of public forestland while protecting 26 million acres of homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire.
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