Tallahassee, Fla. (WTXL) - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is celebrating Prescribed Fire Awareness Week to raise awareness of the important role that prescribed fire plays in protecting Florida's ecosystems and reducing wildfire risk.
According to the DEP, "Prescribed burning, which is guided by detailed plans and must be conducted by specially trained staff, is an important land-management activity that benefits many of the nearly 800,000 acres entrusted to the Florida State Park system."
Thanks to more funding in land management in recent years, the Florida Park Service and the Florida Forest Service worked together to carry out the largest prescribed fire in Florida State Park history, successfully burning 6,000 acres at Fakahatchee State Park.
The Park Service is planning on applying prescribed fire to more land this year than it ever has in Florida history, some 105,000 acres of land in an effort to restore Florida's ecosystems.
For more information on the role of prescribed fire, visit www.goodfires.org.
