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Florida Breaks Prescribed Burn Record

firefighter
Florida Forest Service

The Florida Forest Service has treated more than 246,000 acres with prescribed burns since last August. That surpasses the national record.

Prescribed burns help protect people and their homes by using up fuel that might otherwise ignite and grow into an out of control wild fire. But Fire Mitigation Specialist Todd Schroeder says prescribed burns are also good for the forest.

“There’s several species of animals and flora that benefit from fire being introduced,” Schroeder says.

Schroeder says more rain this year has created wet enough conditions in more areas allowing officials to conduct more prescribed burns than usual.

Follow @Regan_McCarthy

Regan McCarthy is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media. Before coming to Tallahassee, Regan graduated with honors from Indiana University’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. She worked for several years for NPR member station WFIU in Bloomington, Ind., where she covered local and state government and produced feature and community stories.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

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