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Forestry Agency Defends Polk Burn

Tribune photo by GREG FIGHT.

A controlled burn in Polk County ended up burning more than 400 acres. The smoke was still thick Wednesday afternoon.

By MIKE SALINERO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 11, 2008

Updated: 01/11/2008 12:11 am

State forestry officials are re-examining their policies after a controlled burn in Polk County raged out of control, blowing smoke across Interstate 4 and perhaps contributing to a 70-car pileup Wednesday morning.

Critics are questioning why the burning was done just half a mile from the interstate under arid conditions. The 10-acre burn spread to 400 acres before firefighters with the state Division of Forestry were able to contain it; it still smoldered Thursday evening.

"In a situation like this you're going to rethink what you're doing," said Chris Kintner, a spokeswoman for the forestry agency.

Six employees with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission started the prescribed burn Tuesday morning on the Hilochee Wildlife Management Area. The purpose of the burn was to enhance wildlife habitat and rid the area of brush and downed timber that could fuel a wildfire.

Gary Morse, spokesman for the wildlife commission, said he understands the downside to allowing burns close to a heavily traveled highway but said the alternative could be worse.

"We don't have other options," Morse said. "If you don't burn, you have fuel-loading issues and you get wildfires and then the potential for devastation is great."

The state Division of Forestry authorized the burn. Last year, the agency issued 112,232 permits for controlled burns covering 1.88 million acres.

The forestry division can restrict burning and even issue fire bans for counties or regions. Even in the wake of the Hilochee fire that got out of control, the agency hasn't taken that step, issuing 34 burn authorizations in Polk and Hillsborough counties on Wednesday alone.

As a statewide drought enters its 19th month, though, it may get harder to get permits in Polk and Hillsborough.

"We're getting close to cutting off all burning," Kintner said. "We do look at that on yearly basis."

Kintner said the controlled burn manager, Steve Burger, was devastated by the turn of events.

"Hindsight is 20-20. You always rethink it after the fact," Kintner said. But "we will have the kind of wildfires they have in California if we don't do prescribed burns."

Conditions for the controlled burn Tuesday were supposed to be ideal with light winds, 3 to 5 mph, and humidity at about 60 percent. But the humidity dropped sharply to about 30 percent.

"When that drops, you start getting cinders all over the place," Morse said. "That's likely that's an issue that may have caused the fire to get out of control."

The burn started at 10 a.m., but escaped the control lines soon after. The wildlife employees tried to suppress the fire with all-wheel-drive trucks that carry 200 to 500 gallons of water. When that failed, they called the forestry division for help.

Reinforcements arrived about 12:15 p.m. They brought a bulldozer to plow a fire break, but the fire jumped the line.

"At one point that dozer got stuck on a stump and another dozer came in to assist," said John Kern, deputy chief of field operations for the forestry division.

Two firefighters, one of whom suffered burns on his hand, rode out of the inferno on the second dozer.

Kern said more people and equipment were called in, including six bulldozers and a helicopter that dumped water on the fire from a 320-gallon bucket. An airplane flew over the site to direct firefighters.

As of Thursday afternoon, the fire was 90 percent contained, but logs and organic soils still smoldered.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib

.com.

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