Friday, March 02, 2012

A Controlled Burn at Wekiwa Springs State Park

Forest fires are bad - except when they're not.....

We are spending a few days at Wekiwa Springs State Park. Upon starting out on a hike, I noticed smoke and then saw flames - all very close to our campsite. I saw firemen and trucks, but was still concerned whether this was an intentional, managed fire given that our RV was very near. At the time, the fire was just on the other side of the campground loop. It turns out it was all under control. Nevertheless, I was surprised we didn't receive some kind of notice that there would be a controlled burn today - "things" can happen after all. Still, it was an interesting thing to witness this close up. Another great unschooling opportunity as well.

Here is the fireman starting the fire with a torch
This is the view from the edge of the campground -
you can see an RV departing on the access road in the background
The shrubby understory is being burned
Note the flames traveling up some of the trees
After the fireman have moved on, dead trees still smolder -
note the flames at the base one
This is basically what the charred area will look like in 4 months time

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