INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — “As we return to respecting fire,” said Melissa Yunas, Florida Forest Service, “Floridians are reminded that altering Florida’s natural processes can have negative impact in the future.”
Fire and water have been shaping Florida’s natural systems since the land first emerged from the sea. Fire is an important force that helps keep Florida’s natural systems balanced, beautiful, and diverse.
Prior to the arrival of humans thousands of years ago, the occurrence of fires was determined by weather conditions and vegetation. Along with periodic fires caused by lightning, fires set by early humans spread across the land, removing dead vegetation and promoting growth of herbs, berries, wildflowers, grasses, and low shrubs.
Author and historian Henry T. Lewis concluded that there were at least 70 different reasons for Native Americans to use fire including hunting, pest management, fireproofing, and crop yield improvement.
Later, when European settlers began colonizing Florida, they remarked upon the open forests and grasslands maintained by fire. In the 1800s and early 1900s, Florida cattle ranchers commonly used fire to improve grazing conditions.
“Over time, natural fires have been excluded and damaging wildfires have become more common,” Yunas said. “As more people moved to Florida in the 19th and 20th centuries, roads and settlements became barriers to fire’s natural spread across the land.”
“Without periodic fires, both dead and living vegetation (fuels) began to accumulate in natural areas,” Yunas said. “As the vegetation has built up over time, the risk of severe wildfires has increased.”
By the latter half of the 20th Century, a return to respecting fire occurred with the acknowledgement of the benefits of prescribed fire to reduce the accumulation of fuels.
“Prescribed fire is recognized as the most ecologically and economically effective way to manage fuels in Florida,” Yunas said.
Florida is very aggressive in the use of prescribed fire, burning more acres (2 million) per year than any other state. The Florida Forest Service issues 120,000 authorizations on average a year to ranchers, farmers, citrus and sugarcane growers and land managers.
The Florida Forest Service can provide assistance to landowners who want to manage their property through prescribed fire.
“We can write the prescription, conduct the burn and execute mop-up,” said Yunas.
Landowners should contact their local Florida Forest Service office for more information.