INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Motorists traveling along County Road 507 or Interstate 95 might see smoke Wednesday from a 530-acre prescribed burn at a state park.
Park officials plan to scorch pine flatwoods from 9:15 a.m. to about sunset Wednesday at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. The burn was being held in the southwest part of the park along the “red trail,” Park Manager Dylan Gavagni said.
The park stretches from southern Brevard County to northern Indian River County.
Prescribed burns help to reduce uncontrollable wildfires by destroying undergrowth that builds up overtime, officials said. Those who conduct the burns must first obtain an authorization from Florida Forest Service.
The burns imitate natural fire cycles to restore healthy forests, officials said. Burned lands also experience an increase in native wildflowers, birds and other wildlife.