Florida wildlife officials are holding a workshop Thursday on how to get a group of buddies together to start a fire. They're encouraging landowners to cut down on wildfires by forming “prescribed burn associations.”
Arlo Kane works with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He says prescribed burns are needed to protect homes and create good habitats.
“You know, we are the lightening capitol of the U.S. and so fires are going to happen. If it’s not burned on a regular basis you’re going to have a lot of fuel and when a lightning strike happens, the risk of wildfires increases dramatically,” Kane says.
Kane says the state doesn’t have the ability to perform all the prescribed burns needed so officials are encouraging landowners to create an association of members who will help one another implement burns. Thursday’s workshop starts at 10 in the morning in Crawfordville at the Tallahassee Community College Wakulla Environmental Institute.
