’Tis the season to burn

Over the next several days, wildlife biologists will be busy with several large prescribed burns north of Apalachicola in the sawgrass marsh.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Wildlife Biologist Derek Fussell said the prescribed or controlled burns will be done in several phases on marshlands in the Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area. An estimated 10,000 acres will be burned in the next seven to 10 days.

“Our purpose in doing the burn is really twofold,” Fussell said. “It’s about hazard reduction or removing as much combustible material as possible to prevent a more serious wildfire.

“Additionally, burns like this help stop the encroachment of hardwoods into the marsh.”

Before settlement in Florida, Native Americans sometimes used wildfire to burn significant areas of the state. They recognized that fire not only kept forests and fields open, but was good for wildlife such as white-tailed deer.

To burn as much as 10,000 acres quickly, Fussell said the FWC would be using a helicopter and aerial ignition system called Delayed Aerial Ignition Device (DAID). Pilots using the DAID system fly along, dropping pingpong-like balls filled with a chemical mixture. When the balls hit the ground, they ignite.

Under the old burning methods, biologists on the ground with fire pots could burn and maintain control of a prescribed burn of usually not more than several hundred acres. Using a helicopter and a modern DAID system, they can safely burn thousands of acres in a day.

Fussell said another important reason biologists and foresters like to burn in January and February is due to predictable weather.

“We have to keep the smoke away from people and highways, and this time of year fronts and wind direction are much more predictable,” he said.
Fussell said the FWC works closely with the Florida Forest Service and obtains a burn permit before beginning any prescribed burn. To keep it safe, the burn permit takes into account relevant burning conditions.