Prescribed Fire Pays Off in South Florida's Parks

Helicopter 3PH over the Interceptor Fire as it spreads toward Big Cypress National Preserve. NPS/M. Gue.

Smaller, simpler fires

South Florida Fire & Aviation (SFFA) has seen wildfires across south Florida become markedly smaller and less complex over the past several years. The parks aim to burn each prescribed fire unit every five years, and about 50 percent of those unit acres have been treated since fiscal year 2018.

Prescribed fire removes the fuel and vegetation that feed wildfires. Where an area has burned recently, there is no longer enough continuous fuel for intense fire, so fire spreads more slowly — and firefighters can put it out quickly, with less exposure and less risk.

Helicopter 3PH makes water-bucket drops on the Interceptor Fire just north of Big Cypress National Preserve. NPS/M. Gue.

Fiscal year 2022

Big Cypress National Preserve had 21 wildfires. Fourteen were contained in initial attack; only seven went to extended attack. Most ran into burn scars from the previous one to four years, which limited their spread. The biggest, the MM65 fire, grew to 420 acres; managers used a neighbouring recent prescribed burn in planning for its growth, and firefighters contained it before it reached that burned area.

Everglades National Park had nine wildfires totalling 172 acres. Only one went beyond initial attack: the Tarpon Bay fire, which burned 125 acres on the southern edge of the Coastal Prairies prescribed fire unit, next to the River of Grass unit. Because it was close to recently treated ground, it needed little suppression. Several other fires also ran into previously burned areas that limited their growth.

The sun through a smoke column beyond the burned edge of the MM65 fire. NPS/B. Shaw.

Less outside help

More south Florida wildfires are now managed at Type 3, 4 or 5 complexity, so outside help is needed less often. The last incident that called in an outside management team was the Type 2 Avian Complex in 2018, which burned an area that had not seen fire for several years. With most of SFFA's lands now on a 3–7-year prescribed fire plan, fires of that size and intensity are unlikely. Together with capable local leadership, that lets SFFA handle incidents within the south Florida parks and preserve on its own.

Who benefits

Less suppression means less risk for firefighters, less threat to the public, less damage to the land and its unique ecosystems, and lower costs to the federal government. As SFFA keeps meeting the goals of the National Park Service Wildland Fire Strategic Plan, the benefits are expected to grow.

Sources

• National Park Service, Active fuels management leads to success for fire suppression.