Fighting Fire with Fire

What’s the point of controlled burns in our parks and woodland areas? Read on to find out.

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Gearing up for a burn at Indrio Savannahs Preserve.
Gearing up for a burn at Indrio Savannahs Preserve.

Like a phoenix, new life rises from the ashes following prescribed burns. These controlled fires are intentionally set and closely monitored by a county’s environmental resources department to prevent natural wildfires that could harm our environment and wildlife.

When an area is overgrown with vegetation, it is prone to wildfires, which can cause catastrophic destruction if ignited by lightning, a downed power line, or even a cigarette butt. As a preventative measure, counties conduct controlled burns, since charred and ashy environments are unlikely to reignite.

A helicopter ignition team in Jupiter Farms.
A helicopter ignition team in Jupiter Farms.

“Controlled burns remove accumulated dead vegetation, promoting the growth of new plants and rejuvenating habitats,” explains Ethan Brooks, natural resource management
specialist at the St. Lucie County Environmental Resources Department. “They also play a crucial role in managing invasive species, controlling weeds, and reducing the risk of wildfires.”

Cooling down a hot spot at Hungryland Slough Natural Area.
Cooling down a hot spot at Hungryland Slough Natural Area.

County officials have certain sites on a set interval burn rotation, each burn authorized by the Florida Forest Service before it is executed. “We’re doing what Mother Nature used to do but in a more controlled manner,” says Harper Carroll, fire manager for Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management. “Florida is actually the prescribed fire capital of the world, and California and Australia look to us as the model.”

Carroll says areas like pine flatwoods, savannas, scrub, marshes, and swamps are burned around every three years, while Brooks has various locations on a burn rotation of every one to 10 years, depending on habitat, and Martin County aims to perform burns at most locations every three years.

Here’s how it works: officials first conduct a test fire to make sure it behaves as anticipated. They then create a perimeter by burning the outskirts or use natural fire breaks such as waterways, marshland, dirt roads, and sandy areas. To ignite a burn, officials use diesel and gas torches, as well as swamp buggies with flame throwers and electric torches. When burning a very large acreage, they take an aerial approach, dropping “dragon eggs” that resemble Ping-Pong balls from a helicopter.

Starting a fire at Pine Glades Natural Area.
Starting a fire at Pine Glades Natural Area.

Suppression crews are present with 300-gallon water tanks to hose down any sparks that may go awry. Prescribed burns are typically left to smolder and naturally fizzle out, but if there is concern that sparks might jump the line, mop-up crews will extinguish the fire with water and the forest service is called in to do a tractor plow. Officials take safety precautions to minimize smoke from impacting nearby schools, roadways, hospitals, and residential communities.

As for wildlife, animals are very smart and can sense the fire and know where to seek safe shelter until it burns out. For example, sandhill cranes build nests on a mound surrounded by water in wetlands, which acts as a fire break. Within 24 hours of the fire, they return to the area to forage for insects. After a couple of weeks and rainfalls, new growth begins, and other animals such as deer return for a feast.

Containing a controlled burn at Indrio Savannahs Preserve.
Containing a controlled burn at Indrio Savannahs Preserve.

Upcoming Burns

Prescribed fires are dependent on factors such as temperature, wind direction and speed, humidity, dispersion index, and rainfall, so it is impossible to commit to a specific date. Carroll relies on forecasts from the National Weather Service the morning of a planned burn to decide whether the mission is a go or needs to be scrubbed. He says he hopes to burn a nearly 300-acre site in Cypress Creek north of Jupiter Farms Road before year’s end. In Martin County, burns are planned for Mapp Creek Preserve, Hawks Hammock Preserve, and Halpatiokee Park when conditions are appropriate. In St. Lucie County, Brooks says he hopes substantial rainfall by fall will allow for prescribed burns in preserves such as Indrio Savannahs, Walton Scrub, Bluefield, and Cypress Creek.

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