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Prescribed Burns Planned For Weekiwachee, Annutteliga

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By TONY MARRERO, Hernando Today

Published: December 6, 2007

WEEKI WACHEE - Don't be too surprised to smell smoke or see fire in two natural areas this month.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting prescribed burns in Weekiwachee Preserve and the Annutteliga Hammock through the month of December.

Crews will burn about 400 acres, in chunks of about 10 to 15 acres at a time, in the Weekiwachee Preserve, said Kevin Love, land manager for the district.

The preserve is a 10,000-acre swath of land between the coast and U.S. 19 and bordered roughly by County Road 550 to the north and the Pasco County line to the south.

About 100 acres are targeted for burning in the Annutteliga Hammock.

The hammock is bordered by U.S. 19 to the west and Centralia Road to the south. The hammock, which features trails for hiking and horseback riding, extends north to about Sandpiper Avenue.

The times and specific locations for the burns are hard to predict, Love said. Crews work according to the weather, especially wind speed and direction.

"They wait for the right day with the right conditions," Love said.

The burns are meant to accomplish in a controlled way what Mother Nature does at random: cause fires that incinerate overgrowth and dead foliage.

That benefits the ecology and improves the habitat for wildlife and safeguards man by removing fuel for wildfires, Love said.

Mary Barnwell, senior land management specialist for the district, said she tries to work in a checkerboard pattern as she comes up with annual burn plans because it's a good way to thwart the spread of wildfires.

Crews try their best to avoid smothering roads and residential areas with smoke but residents and motorists should still use caution when driving or spending time outdoors, Love said.

For information, call Swiftmud at (352) 796-7211 or 1-800-423-1476.

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