FIRE

A little over a week ago, I got to be a member of one of the ignition teams on a prescribed burn on Corkscrew’s property. It was incredibly cool, and I learned so much.

The Everglades is an incredibly fire dependent region, and its pine flatwoods and prairie ecosystems especially so. Pine flatwoods cover approximately 50% of Florida’s natural land area, making them the most extensive terrestrial ecosystem in the state. Fire is necessary to maintain the open plant community this shade-intolerant ecosystem relies on. Without periodic burning, this habitat can undergo a phase shift into a hardwood hammock in as little as 15 years. Fire-adapted plants within these habitats even rely on burning to help germinate seeds and improve growth. As human populations have spread, we tend to suppress natural fire regimes. Not only does this result in a buildup of dead vegetation that can act as fuel for extremely destructive wildfires, it allows for areas of extremely dense vegetation that make it difficult for wildlife to travel through.

There are so many moving parts to a prescribed burn; wind, humidity, presence and types of fuels, as well as location of all team members, corridors for wildlife to escape, and many other factors. There are different techniques for setting fire, and different terms dependent on where the edge of the fire is compared to the wind direction, which then influences fire behavior. It’s difficult not to just stop and stare as the fire burns on, but there’s too many important tasks to focus on such as spacing ignition spots correctly and watching embers to make sure they don’t travel outside of where the fire is meant to be contained. I have gained such a respect for fire, for the habitats that rely on it, and the teams that carry out the prescribed burns to maintain these vital ecosystems. I’m honored to have gotten the opportunity to be a part of it all.

-Sam