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Fire Itself Is Best Safeguard Against Devastating Wildfires

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 30, 2008

It may seem blasphemous to say during this tinderbox season, when a carelessly thrown match or unattended barbecue can ignite a wildfire that scorches the countryside, but Florida needs more fires - a lot more.

Not, of course, like the one earlier this month that burned thousands of acres and destroyed 30 homes in Brevard County.

But it does need more prescribed burns - controlled burns that consume fallen trees, underbrush and other accumulated fuels that make fires uncontrollable.

Yet many residents vigorously oppose such planned burns. They complain about the smoke and fear the fires will get out of control.

Occasionally mishaps do occur. A controlled burn spread by unexpected winds contributed to a massive wreck on I-4 in Polk County that killed five and sent 40 people to the hospital in February. The smoke made visibility on the fog-shrouded highway even worse.

But such incidents are rare. To guard against accidents, forestry officials burn acreage only under certain weather conditions and after establishing fire breaks around the parcels to be burned.

The dangers of leaving the woods full of flammable material are a far greater threat to people's homes and lives.

A wildfire that burned 40,000 acres in and around the Everglades a little over a week ago underscores the point. Flames leapt toward a residential area until the blaze reached a tract where a controlled burn had been conducted last year. Its fuel supply diminished, the fire became less intense and firefighters were able to keep it in check.

The same thing happened last year during the massive "Bugaboo" scrub fire that raged from April until June, closed interstates in Georgia and Florida, and blanketed much of north Florida in thick smoke. The fire started in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp and roared south across the state line. Firefighters gained control only when the fire reached a stretch of Osceola National Forest that had previously been intentionally burned. Rainfall eventually extinguished the flames.

As John Saddler, prescribed fire manager for the state Division of Forestry, says, "As far as fire reduction, prescribed burns are the most cost-effective method we have by far."

Fire, Florida residents also should remember, is an essential part of the state's ecosystem.

The destruction it leaves behind, combined with the nutrients contained in the ash, prompt vegetation growth that feeds wildlife and helps protect wetlands by burning away smothering muck. Many native plants depend upon fires for regeneration and growth.

Florida, to its credit, has been proactive. Over the last five years, it's averaged about 2 million acres a year of controlled burns, some for agricultural purposes. Officials estimate that as many as 10 million acres should be burned.

With housing developments scattered throughout the countryside, the state, of course, will never be able to replicate a completely natural burn cycle in its woodlands.

But residents who get hot under the collar when they learn about plans for a controlled burn should understand those flames provide the best safeguard against devastating wildfire - and rejuvenate natural habitats as well.

The benefits are worth enduring a few smoky days.

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