Sunday, February 20, 2011

Firefighters conduct controlled burn in 5,000 acres of Big Cypress

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http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/feb/03/firefighters-controlled-burn-big-cypress/
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Firefighters conduct controlled burn in 5,000 acres of Big Cypress

By DAVID ALBERS
Naples Daily News
February 3, 2011 .

Wildland firefighters from the Big Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park have spent three days conducting a controlled burn of roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County.

The recent winter weather with low afternoon humidity provided a window of opportunity for the firefighters for the project before the peak of Florida's wildfire season.

The prescribed burns replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. Without the prescribed burns in the Everglades, underbrush becomes unnaturally thick, creating conditions that can cause unnaturally hot and chaotic wildfires that damage the environment and threaten man-made structures.


Assistant engine captain Justin Phippen lights a controlled burn on Thursday afternoon along Turner River Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County. In three days of the prescribed burning, the team of wildland firefighters has burned roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the preserve. The project is part of an ongoing effort to replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. David Albers/Staff
Photo by DAVID ALBERS // Buy this photo
Assistant engine captain Justin Phippen lights a controlled burn on Thursday afternoon along Turner River Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County. In three days of the prescribed burning, the team of wildland firefighters has burned roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the preserve. The project is part of an ongoing effort to replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. David Albers/Staff
Prescribed burning in the Big Cypress National Preserve
Forestry technician Mindy Wright lights a controlled burn on Thursday afternoon along Turner River Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County. In three days of the prescribed burning, a team of wildland firefighters has burned roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the preserve. The project is part of an ongoing effort to replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. David Albers/Staff
Assistant engine captain Justin Phippen monitors the edge of a controlled burn as they burn around a dwelling on Thursday afternoon along Turner River Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County. In three days of the prescribed burning, a team of wildland firefighters has burned roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the preserve. The project is part of an ongoing effort to replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. David Albers/Staff
Forestry technician Mindy Wright lights a controlled burn on Thursday afternoon along Turner River Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County. In three days of the prescribed burning, a team of wildland firefighters has burned roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the preserve. The project is part of an ongoing effort to replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. David Albers/Staff
An Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake crosses Turner River Road to avoid a controlled burn on Thursday afternoon in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County. In three days of the prescribed burning, a team of wildland firefighters has burned roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the preserve. The project is part of an ongoing effort to replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. David Albers/Staff
Assistant engine captain Justin Phippen lights a controlled burn on Thursday afternoon along Turner River Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Eastern Collier County. In three days of the prescribed burning, the team of wildland firefighters has burned roughly 5,000 of the 720,000 acres of the preserve. The project is part of an ongoing effort to replicate the natural process that wildfire plays in the area's ecosystem. David Albers/Staff

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