Firefighters to perform 76-acre prescribed burn at Koreshan State Park

Writer: Kendell Gordon
Published: Updated:
Prescribed burns. CREDIT: WINK News

San Carlos Park Fire Protection & Rescue Service District will perform a 76-acre prescribed burn at Koreshan State Park.

The prescribed burn will occur on Friday, with firefighters preemptively advising that those in the Estero area will see heavy smoke throughout the day.

According to the U.S. Department Of Agriculture, prescribed burns are controlled by a team of fire experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire.

After many years of fire exclusion, an ecosystem that needs periodic fire becomes unhealthy. Trees are stressed by overcrowding; fire-dependent species disappear, and flammable fuels build up and become hazardous. 

By using this strategy, firefighters can:

  • Reduces hazardous fuels, protecting human communities from extreme fires
  • Minimizes the spread of pests, insects and diseases
  • Removes unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem
  • Provides forage for game
  • Improves habitat for threatened and endangered species
  • Recycles nutrients back into the soil
  • Promotes the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants

Properly using prescribed fire can reduce the risk of unwanted wildfires in the future.

If you live near the area, you may notice smoke plumes rising high into the air and the area may smell smoky for a day or two, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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