LITHIA, Florida— As smoke filled the air from Monday morning’s prescribed burn in Lithia, it might have been hard to see; but the mission for members of the Hillsborough County Wildland Management crew was crystal clear.
“The more prescribed burning we do, the better off we are as far as wildfires go,” said Hillsborough County Wildland Fire Manager Ken Bradshaw.
He and his crew began burning off excess vegetation Monday during a time of year where there is still plenty of moisture in the vegetation, and humidity levels are near normal. As we move into the early portion of 2019, conditions are expected to get drier heading through spring. Florida’s wildfire season peaks in April and May when dried-out plant material is susceptible to the slightest spark and especially lightning.
“It would most certainly mean a wildfire which could span hundreds of acres,” said Bradshaw, who has been trying to prevent wildfires for nearly 20 years. "There are homes to the north, to the west, really homes all around.”
In addition to protecting homes and businesses, the burn is also targeting exotic invasive plant species like cogon grass out of Southeast Asia. The grass, with its thick root system, makes the fire threat even greater.
“We’ve created a black line, which is an additional safety buffer, and now we’re lighting a heading fire to get the rest of the unit burned out,” Bradshaw said.
Flames will burn for nearly six hours before the entire area looks black and sparse. Monday’s single burn will help provide years of protection and allow crews to more safely conduct similar prescribed burns in neighboring areas.
“This single event could prevent a wildfire from occurring but could also allow us to do more burns so we can continue to work off of this.”
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
