INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Residents might smell smoke in the air throughout the day because of a controlled burn, according to a Florida Forest Service news release.
The Forest Service issued a controlled burn permit for a 20-acre blaze inside an agricultural area near State Road 60 and Blue Cypress Road, west of Interstate 95 and the Blue Cypress Conservation Area, the release states. The permit is valid from 9 a.m. to 7:07 p.m. Tuesday.
Forest Service spokeswoman Melissa Yunas said landowners have to call the agency in the morning to ask for a burn permit. Forest Service looks at weather conditions and humidity before it issues out permits.
“The idea is for them to keep the fire under control,” Yunas said.
Yunas said if the fire gets out of control, the Forest Service firefighters will come in, put the fire out and might give the landowner a violation notice, depending on the situation.
She said when ranchers burn their dead grass, new grass grows within two weeks. These burns are important because the blazes destroy ticks and parasites that live in the dead grass.
“The green grass provides more nutrients than the dead old brown grass,” Yunas said. “The ticks and parasites in the dead grass can harm the cows.”
Yunas said the controlled burns also helps prevent wildfires and that fire is a tool for managing the land. She said dead vegetation is an accelerant for fires.
“If land hasn’t been managed in 10 years or more, the dead vegetation accumulates on the forest floor,” Yunas said. “All you need is an ignition source like a lightning strike or careless human to spark the flame.”
She said there can easily be a wildfire today because of the lack of rainfall on the Treasure Coast.
