Residents and motorists might smell smoke this week from a set of prescribed burns in the county, authorities said.
A private landowner will conduct a 200-acre prescribed burn from 9 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday near State Road 60 and Interstate 95, said Florida Forest Service spokeswoman Melissa Yunas. The owner will be burning shrubs, twigs, and dead vegetation.
Two other burns conducted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will take place Thursday and Friday at the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. The park stretches from southern Brevard County to northern Indian River County.
The fires, which will be about 600 acres daily, will consist of burning flatwoods directly along I-95 near mile marker 163. Times for those burns were not immediately available. Smoke will be visible to motorists on I-95 and State Road 60.
Prescribed burns play an important role in enhancing the environment and reducing the risk for a wildfire, Yunas said. The burns imitate natural fire cycles to restore healthy forests and natural communities and to reduce accumulated undergrowth, said park manager Dylan Gavagni.
Burned lands experience an increase in native wildflowers, birds and other wildlife.
