Prescribed fire versus the risk of wildfires
Unlike current dry conditions in California and other western states, the ground and vegetation across Sanibel are holding a lot of moisture. Fire requires the presence of (dry) fuel, oxygen and heat in equal measure to ignite.
Before managers can plan a prescribed burn, they need to assess fuel conditions, including the density — amount and distribution — and moisture content of live and dead vegetation. Moisture level is the most important consideration when determining the flammability of fuels, meaning the ability for vegetation to catch fire and how hot the fire will burn. Live, green trees and grasses contain more moisture which slows the burning process. Although there is dead vegetation across the island, most still left over from Hurricane Ian, the wet soil from our wet winter and their dispersal within green growth keeps the fire potential low. This impacts the ability for both wildfires and prescribed burns to start.
Fire behavior — intensity and rate of spread — is determined by fuel type, in combination with weather and topography. Generally, distribution and type of vegetation, wind direction and topography will determine how quickly and what direction a fire will spread. Since Sanibel Island is primarily flat, it is fuel and weather that help fire managers understand how a fire will behave. We know the ground is slowly drying and we continue to monitor so that we can get equipment in to clear firelines, including roads, around burn units as soon as possible. Once the firelines are cleared, the vegetation is drier, the weather is appropriate, and we have the correct amount of personnel and equipment we will begin burning in specific locations on the island. More information will be shared as burn plans are developed.
This week is Florida Prescribed Fire Awareness Week and the Sanibel Island Fire Task Force will host “pop-up” information tables around the island.
Erin Myers is deputy project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest Florida Refuge Complex, which includes the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Refuge on Sanibel.