Fire management officials at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge are planning to conduct a prescribed burn on 1,000 acres on the northern side of the refuge’s Strazzulla unit for the purposes of habitat improvement and invasive species management.
Current weather conditions look favorable to complete the burn on Friday, Feb. 21 through Saturday, Feb. 22. The Strazzulla unit will be closed to the public for the duration of the prescribed burn. The fire will be ignited primarily through the work of ground crews. Smoke will be readily visible from areas in western Palm Beach County. Wind direction is predicted from the northeast that will carry smoke southwest, away from populated areas, including Homeland and Wellington.
Prescribed fire is the burning of vegetation based on a prescription that takes into consideration fuel type, fuel moisture, relative humidity, air temperature, wind speed, wind direction and other atmospheric conditions to ensure a safe and successful burn.
The prescribed burn will comply with all State of Florida open burning regulations. Refuge fire management staff will conduct the burns in cooperation with the Florida Division of Forestry and Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue.
The objectives of the fire management program are to provide protection to private property and human lives against uncontrolled wildfires that may result from un-managed fire-maintained vegetative communities through vegetative fuel reduction, and to provide protection to both natural and constructed refuge resources from catastrophic wildfires through fuel reduction. The burns also help maintain biological diversity.
