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Chapter 3: Audio-Visual Resources on Wildland Fire1
Martha C. Monroe, Susan Marynowski, and Alison Bowers, 2This document is a chapter in the Wildland Fire Education Handbook. To learn more about this handbook, please refer to Chapter 1: Introduction to the Wildland Fire Education Handbook (FOR 72 ).
This chapter of the Wildland Fire Education Handbook contains: a description of five videos on wildland fire in Florida that are included in the Toolkit, information on how to use the CD-ROM or slide images to create a presentation, descriptions of the photographic images included in the Toolkit, a presentation with four themes that can be easily adapted, and a sample script.
Wildland Fire Video Library Annotations
Fire in the Southland
Date: 1999, Duration: 6:25, Produced by: White Hawk Pictures, Funded by: Advisory Council on Environmental Education, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, available from: Tall Timbers Research Station, Route 1, Box 678, Tallahassee, FL 32312, 850-893-4153.This short version of the classic video begins with footage and interviews with residents and fire fighters from the Waldo wildfire of 1998. It emphasizes that wildfire is out of control and dangerous. After a minute, the video shifts to a discussion of prescribed fire, with footage of a low, cool fire being set by a drip torch. Prescribed fire maintains natural systems (especially disappearing longleaf pine forests), prevents wildfires, and mimics natural lightning fires.
A history of prescribed fire use by Native Americans and early European settlers begins at 2:10. Because the government erroneously thought that fire was limiting pine regeneration in the early parts of the 20th century, concerns were raised about the continued practices of range burning and a program of fire exclusion was begun. By the 1930s, fire exclusion already had the undesired results of fuel buildup and generally uncontrollable wildfires.
At 3:30 minutes the video offers information about the benefits of natural fire to ecological systems, with visuals of wild flowers blooming after a fire. Then the video takes several minutes to look at an area that had a prescribed fire in June. It looks barren immediately after the burn, but then shows sprouting vegetation just one week later. The burn is visited four weeks later to show pines greening, birds renesting, and animals such as fox squirrels and gopher tortoises thriving. This video effectively shows vegetation regrowth and benefits to wildlife after a fire. The benefits of fire in maintaining a natural balance are restated. The video concludes that we must fight fire with fire by supporting prescribed burning as our best insurance against wildfire.
Where There's Fire
Date:1997, Duration: 27:40, Funded and Property of: Florida Department of Education, available from: Florida Public Television/WFSU, Florida Crossroads Episode #911, P.O. Box 10910, Tallahassee, FL 32302-2910, 850-488-1281.This video focuses on prescribed fire and its role in preventing wildfire. It begins with a description of the "Black Friday" wildfire of 1985 and a discussion of the 1996 wildfires in Florida. Experts are interviewed from Florida's State Parks, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Division of Forestry (DOF), and Tall Timbers Research Station, as well as people who use fire to manage forest or range lands.
The role of prescribed fire in reducing fuels, preventing wildfire, and maintaining natural systems is discussed. The history of prescribed fire in Florida is given, and ranchers are cited as one group that carried on the burning tradition while others in Florida were convinced by the "Smokey Bear" campaign to suppress fires in Florida. A comparison is made between two experimental sites--one that had fire excluded for over 30 years, and another that had annual fires. Benefits of prescribed fire to endangered species and humans are explained.
The video describes the prescribed fire permitting process and discusses the social issues surrounding prescribed fire and smoke management. Two case studies--Estero, Florida, where an elderly population was accidentally affected by smoke from a prescribed fire, and North Port, Florida, where a wildfire destroyed homes--illustrate the problems of human communities encroaching on fire-prone areas and the difficulties involved in performing prescribed burns in those areas. Defensible space is briefly described. The ability of the DOF to burn overgrown private land under authority of the Hawkins Act is discussed. Education campaigns about fire are described. The narrator mentions Florida's three Prescribed Fire Councils at the end.
Wildfire!
Date: 1998, Duration: 26:10, available from: WUSF-TV Channel 16, Beyond Science, Program #101, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620, 813-974-4000.This video begins with dramatic footage of scenes from the 1998 Florida wildfires, including a road covered with smoke, fire fighters at work, aerial photographs, and a lightning strike. Jim Mauney of Volusia County Fire Services and Mike Kuypers of the Division of Forestry discuss the "triage" approach to fighting wildfire, the various types of vegetative fuels (ground, ladder, and tree), and the relationship of fuel type and density to fire intensity (e.g., 5-to-6-foot palmettos can create 12-to-20-foot flames). Fire exclusion is cited as a factor contributing to wildfires.
At 7:50 minutes the video changes to a presentation of the historic "Smokey Bear" advertising campaign. This part of the video presents a fairly detailed history of Smokey, with a number of clips from ads and cartoons featuring Smokey and other characters, such as "Jack the Flipper" and "Bullwinkle." Although this portion of the video is long, it sets the stage for other information presented about the benefits of prescribed fire.
At 11:40 minutes the video moves to a discussion of fire-dependent ecosystems. Walt Thompson and Jim Murrian of The Nature Conservancy discuss why Florida's ecosystems need fire and the benefits of fire. They remind us that fire is going to happen one way or the other, and it is better for us to manage fuels with prescribed fire instead of fighting wildfires. An example of the Central Florida flatwoods is shown as they emphasize that we need to learn to live with fire in Florida. Next, Henry Mushinski of the University of South Florida (USF) talks about the adaptations of wildlife to fire in Florida by showing the example of a gopher tortoise on USF's experimental sandhills burn plot. The benefits of fire in the management of whole systems are emphasized.
At 17:30 minutes the video turns to a demonstration of prescribed fire in action, with shots of a drip torch and information about how fire is used to manage and restore natural systems. The prescription and permitting processes for prescribed burning are discussed by Geoff Babb of The Nature Conservancy.
The video finishes with a discussion of smoke management, beginning at 18:30. The conclusions are that the public needs to learn to live with fire in Florida and to accept some smoke from prescribed fires. Prescribed fire is favorably compared to wildfire as being much less dangerous, costly, and damaging to natural systems.
Florida in Flames
Date: 1998, Duration: 6:30, available from: Florida Department of Community Affairs, 2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100, 850-413-9884.This dramatic short video has no narrative, but music accompanies the stark images and newspaper headlines tell the story of the 1998 wildfires. A map of Flagler County shows the evacuated region. Aerial views with helicopter and air tanker fire fighting efforts are shown. There are quite a few scenes of burning and destroyed homes. It ends with views of tired fire fighters, relieving rain, and homes destroyed by the fire. There is a list of 1998 fire facts:
Because of the use of newspaper headlines, this video would be ideal for a hearing-impaired audience. Because of the disturbing images, this video may not be appropriate for young audiences.
- 2,382 fires
- 498,909 acres burned
- 125 homes burned
- 200 homes damaged
- 44 states helped fight fires
- 7,500 fire fighters and support personnel participated
Wildfire: Are You Prepared?
Date: 1998, Duration: 6:40, available from: Channel 9, WFTV, Inc., 490 E. South Street, Orlando, FL 32801, 407-841-9000.This video starts with wildfire footage and a news anchor introduction, but quickly moves to the main topic of home wildfire safety. The video is hosted and narrated by Mike Kuypers of the Florida Division of Forestry's Bunnell District office. Many areas that burned in the 1998 wildfire are within the Bunnell district. He explains some of the causes of fire in Florida, and gives a complete description of the things that can be done to defend a home from wildfire. Actions demonstrated include properly identifying the house, providing fire fighting access, creating and maintaining defensible space, keeping roofs and gutters clean, and using fire-safe home construction materials. Near the end, guidelines are provided for actions to take when a wildfire actually threatens. The video is summarized with the fact that fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, and that we must learn to live safely with fire in Florida.
This video was developed for residents of the high-risk, fire-prone ecosystems of Flagler and Volusia counties, where wildfires have damaged and destroyed homes several times during the past few decades. While this video is appropriate for audiences of other high-risk areas of Florida, it is less helpful for people at low risk of wildfire. For example, the video emphasizes clearing and irrigating defensible space, whereas the Toolkit advisors agree that well-spaced large trees and low-water landscaping are acceptable within the defensible space and provide benefits in water and energy conservation. Although the video does not help homeowners to first assess their level of risk, county teams who deliver public programs should be able to select appropriate audiences for this video. The brochure Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind is included in the Toolkit to help homeowners determine their level of risk from wildfire. For communities at high risk for wildfire, this video clearly shows important strategies to reduce risk and make a more defensible landscape.
Creating a Visual Presentation
The following pages present materials you can use to create presentations about wildland fire. Please take a few minutes to become familiar with the contents of the CD-ROM.Suggestions for using these materials:
1. Determine the topic you would like to present. The sample presentation has been organized around four themes that can be used as topics. You can use these themes as topics or create your own. The four provided themes are:
a. the natural role of fire in Florida
b. two kinds of fire in Florida
c. prescribed fire
d. protecting Florida homes from fire.2. Outline what information and messages you would like to present. This information can come from various sources B the resources and information found in this Toolkit, the list of additional resources in Chapter 2, and your personal knowledge and experiences. It is particularly important that you make your presentation specific to the area in which you will give the presentation. Include local information such as ecosystem type, fire history, and risk of wildfire.
3. Identify the main points you wish to make in your presentation. Review the main themes and points found in Chapter 1 of this handbook for assistance.
4. Peruse the sample presentation and choose the photographic images and/or slides that best illustrate your themes and main points. Background information for each slide is available in this chapter to help you understand the images. You can use the provided slides or create slides of your own.
5. Add supplementary photographic images from the CD-ROM and add your own images.
6. Develop a specific script for your photographic images and slides that makes your points and will keep your audience attentive for 10-15 minutes. A sample script is found in this chapter. Note that it is considerably shorter than the background information.
Photographic Image Descriptions
Photographs can be found on the CD-ROM in the folder entitled 'Photos'. Counties without the technological capabilities to use the images on the CD-ROM may receive a set of 40 slides. Only the images marked with an 'X' in the Slide column are available in that format. See Table 1 .Sample Presentation
The sample presentation on Wildland Fire in Florida contains 48 slides and can be viewed using PowerPoint. See Table 2 .Table 3 presents a sample script for presentation about fire in a fictitious county.
Tips for Adapting "Fire in Florida" Presentation
To shorten Fire in Florida
- Open Presentations on your laptop computer. In the Work On Menu, choose browse and locate the file on your CD-Rom (in the Presentations folder). Open it.
- Display the presentation in Slide Sorter mode (found under the View menu).
- Identify the slides you wish to delete. Click on each slide with the cursor, and while the slide is marked (a darker border), hit the Delete key, or Delete Slide under the Edit menu.
- To delete several slides at once, move the cursor and click on each one as you hold down the shift key. Then hit Delete, or Delete Slide under the Edit menu.
- Save this file on your hard drive (Save As under the File menu).
To change the order of slides in Fire in Florida
While in Slide Sorter mode, highlight one slide. Cut this slide (under the Edit menu or Control+X). Choose Paste (under the Edit menu or Control+V) and the slide will pop in after any slide you highlight. For example, to paste between slides 22 and 23, highlight slide 22 and paste. The new slide will be between 22 and 23.Try reordering the slides, placing Planning for a Fire (#24) before Setting a Prescribed Fire (#23).
To change existing slides in Fire in Florida
Try changing the slide Fire Frequency in Florida Ecosystems (#9) by removing one ecosystem not represented in your county. Highlight the picture and hit delete, and do the same for the caption. Move the remaining pictures and captions around until they appear balanced. You may resize a picture and change the dimensions of the caption textboxes in the same way that you can change the shape of a picture.
- Click twice on the slide you want to change (or change to Slide Editor mode in the View menu). Now this one slide is on your screen.
- The title, the text, and the photo are in separate boxes. Click twice on the title and now you are able to edit the title by moving the cursor, deleting letters, and adding new ones. You can delete the entire title and start over.
- When you click on a photo, little squares appear in the 4 corners and on the 4 midpoints. The cursor changes shape as it moves over the squares and picture. While on the picture, the cursor is a 4-headed arrow. In this mode, you can click on the cursor and move the picture anywhere on the screen. When the cursor is on a corner, it will be in the shape of a 2-headed diagonal arrow. You can click and enlarge or reduce the picture while retaining the same ratio. When the cursor is on a midpoint, it will become a 2-headed horizontal or vertical arrow and will enlarge or reduce the picture in one dimension only.
Go to the title slide, Fire in Florida (#1), and add your name and county in the subtitle section. Don't forget to save this new version of the slide show.
To create a new slide in Fire in Florida
Try creating a slide with the title Prescribed Burns Attract the Media, the photo entitled demobrn3, and appropriate text. You may wish to use the slide format with bullets on one side of the clip art. This title is probably too long to fit on one line. You can use small letters, shorten the title, resize the title box, or reduce the font (highlight the title box and the title words, then change the font under Format, Font, Size).
- While in Slide Sorter mode, click on the slide before the space where the new slide will go. Under the Insert menu, click on New Slide. If given the option, choose the format for your slide. Your new slide will pop in.
- Click twice on this new slide (or change to Slide Editor in the View menu).
- Click on the title box and type your title. Click on other text areas and add your text.
- To add a photograph to your new slide from the Photos Folder on the CD, highlight the clipart area of the slide (or any area of the slide), then pull down the Insert menu and click on Graphics, From File. You will get another set of instructions asking from which file. Direct the computer to the CD, Photos Folder under Presentations.
- When you find the photo you want, click Insert and the photo will appear in your Highlight the photo and move it or size it to fit your slide.
Remember that the CD is not re-writeable, so you can't hurt the original file. Keep saving your adaptations in different file names. Have fun!
Tables
Table 1. Photographic Image Descriptions
File Name
Slide
Description
after1
X
charred grass clump with new growth
after2
X
deer and wild turkey in forest
after3
charred forest after a fire
cutebear
X
bear cub peeking around a tree
cutetree
interestingly-shaped, gnarled pine tree
defsp1
X
house in burned forest with defensible space
defsp2
X
house with defensible space
defsp3
house with defensible space?tree island defsp4
X
house with defensible space?shrub island defsp5
X
house in forest with defensible space?cleared ground defsp6
X
house with defensible space?shrub and tree island defsp7
X
house with defensible space?shrub islands demobrn1
X
news crew at the demo burn
demobrn2
X
cameraman filming bulldozer at the demo burn
demobrn3
X
tv reporter at the demo burn
demobrn4
X
photographer at the demo burn
demobrn5
X
official gathering at the demo burn
demobrn6
cameraman filming fire demonstration at the demo burn
demobrn7
X
news crew interviewing fire official at the demo burn
demobrn8
photographer at the demo burn
dogwood
road through forest lined with dogwoods
drip1
X
person with drip torch
drip2
person with drip torch drip3
X
person with drip torch fight1
X
bulldozer creating fire breaks in forest
fight2
transport vehicles gathered to fight wildfire
flames1
X
close-up of a wildland fire
flames2
flames in trees
flames3
X
flames in forest
flatwds1
X
flatwoods ecosystem flatwds2
flatwoods ecosystem flatwds3
X
flatwoods ecosystem hsonfire
house on fire (not in Florida)
ladder1
fuel ladder--dense vegetation climbing upwards
ladder2
fuel ladder--dense vegetation climbing upwards
leafroof
X
pine needles on roof of house
litmap
X
map of lightning strikes across U.S.
lowrisk
X
home at low risk for wildland fire
mopup1
person mopping up after a wildland fire
mopup2
person spraying water after a wildland fire
pastfor
X
Florida forest in the past
pfsign
educational sign about prescribed fire
pinebud
pine bud
prevent
'prevent wildfires' sign
removeplnts
person with shovel
ruins1
ruins of house after fire
ruins2
X
ruins of house after fire
Rxfire1
X
small prescribed fire in flatwoods ecosystem
Rxfire2
prescribed fire in flatwoods ecosystem
Rxfire3 X
prescribed fire climbing a tree in a forest
Rxfire4
X
prescribed fire and smoke in forest
Rxfire5
'caution : prescribed fire' sign
Rxfire6
X
two people at a prescribed fire
Rxfire-home
flames from prescribed fire near a home
Rxfire-smoke
X
smoke at prescribed fire
sandhll1
X
sandhill ecosystem
sandhll2
longleaf pines in sandhill ecosystem
sandhll3
X
sandhill ecosystem
sandhll4
X
longleaf seedling in sandhill ecosystem
scrub1
X
scrub ecosystem
scrub2
scrub ecosystem
sign
street sign with clearly labeled numbers
smoke1
huge smoke cloud over wildifre
smoke2
smoke-filled forest area
smoke3
smoke from wildfire near road
smoke4
massive smoke cloud over wildfire
smoke5
huge smoke cloud over trees
soffits1
melted soffits hanging from house after a fire
soffits2
X
melted soffits hanging from house after a fire
soffits3
melted soffits and siding on house from fire
trimtrees
person trimming trees
undefsp1
house with undefensible space
undefsp2
house with undefensible space
undefsp3
X
house with undefensible space
undefsp4
X
house with undefensible space
undefsp5
house with undefensible space
undefsp6
house with undefensible space
wetland
wetland ecosystem
wldfire1
X
smoke and wildfire in forest
wldfire2 huge smoke cloud from wildfire in forest
Thanks to the following photographers and agencies for allowing us to duplicate their images: Alison Bowers, Kimberly Heuberger, Larry Korhnak, Alan Long, Susan Marynowski, Martha Monroe, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Division of Forestry, and The Nature Conservancy.
Table 2. Background Information for Sample Presentation Fire in Florida
Background information
Slide # and title
Fire in Florida
1: Title slide
The sample presentation is divided into four themes. Depending on your topic, you may use all or some of these themes. 2: Themes
The Natural Role and History of Fire in Florida
3: Title slide
Florida is Prone to Fire Florida is a long peninsula, stretching through several climate zones. Florida has warm weather most of the year, distinct wet and dry seasons, and mild winters. These semi-tropical conditions provide lots of vegetation to feed fires in dry times.
4: Florida's geography Florida's Ecosystems Are Adapted to Fire Because of the warm climate, there are many different types of natural communities, or ecosystems, in Florida. Florida's ecosystems are adapted to frequent fire. Three of Florida's more common fire-adapted ecosystems are pine flatwoods, pine sandhills, and sand pine/oak scrub. Plants and animals that are native to Florida also are adapted to fire, and some require periodic fire to flourish. Fire generally is a healthy and cleansing force in Florida's ecosystems.
5: Florida's ecosystems
6: Fire-adapted species
Lightning Capital of the World You may have heard that Florida is the "lightning capital of the world." This map shows that Florida is at least the lightning capital of the U.S. The dark red area shows where there is a high incidence of lightning. Florida has warm and humid summers. Rising warm air from the land mixes with cooler ocean and gulf air at higher elevations to create regular electrical storms.
7: Lightning strikes across the U.S.
To Every Lightning, There is a Season Notice that the months of May, June, and July have the most lightning. These are also the months when most natural fires happen in Florida. Many trees, plants, and animals of Florida are adapted to these "growing season" fires. For example, some plants in Florida's pine woods actually require a spring fire to bloom and set seed, and many birds who lose nests in a spring fire will make new nests right away. Longleaf pine seedlings prefer to grow in the open sand that follows a fire. Fire is a spring cleaning tool for Florida ecosystems that promotes the growth of vegetation and insects for wildlife food and fertilizes forest plants and trees with ash.
8: Av. # of fires per month per cause
The Natural Frequency of Fire Historically, periodic fires burned over much of Florida's landscape. Low-level fires burned through grasses and wildflowers in the sandhills every 2-5 years. Fires that were a bit hotter burned palmettos in the pine flatwoods and prairies every 3-7 years. The sand pine and oak scrub ecosystems in Florida depend on hot fires every 10-50 years. After these hot fires burn all of the vegetation, the entire ecosystem naturally resprouts. Florida's swamps have periodic fires, every 50-100 years!
9: Fire frequency in FL ecosystems
Forests of the Past In the past, periodic fires kept Florida forests and grasslands clear of vegetation. Native Americans used fire to clean the forest and help with hunting. European settlers who came to Florida found open and park-like forests in Florida.
10: Forests of the past
Forests of Today In the last 100 years, Florida's human population has grown enormously. As in other parts of the US, fires were put out to protect forest operations and nearby towns. People didn't understand that Florida's forests needed frequent fires. As a result of the fire exclusion policy, the landscape became overgrown and dead vegetation accumulated the perfect fuels for wildfire. In the last 50 years, Florida has experienced several catastrophic fires. People and land managers now are concerned about fuel build up in Florida's forests.
11: Benefits of wildland fire
The History of Fire in Florida Prior to the 20th century, Florida experienced frequent low-level fires caused by early settlers, Native Americans, and lightning. This resulted in open, park-like forests and fire-adapted ecosystems. Since the 20th century, an increasing human population and fire exclusion to encourage a young forest industry led to a build-up of fuels that has resulted in catastrophic wildfires.
12: History of fire in Florida (Summary)
Two Kinds of Fire in Florida: Wildfire and Prescribed Fire
13: Title slide
Two Kinds of Fire There are two kinds of fire in Florida, wildfire that can burn out of control and threaten homes and damage forests, and prescribed fire, which is usually kept under control. Prescribed fires are set to benefit the natural community, to reduce the build up of fuels, and to prevent catastrophic wildfires. While wildfires are intensely hot and move quickly across the ground and through the tops of the trees, prescribed fires are cooler, burning the vegetation and debris along the ground. Prescribed fires are performed in accordance with a prescription of specific weather conditions and permitted by the Florida Division of Forestry.
14: Wildfires are costly to fight
15: Prescribed fires are planned
Wildfire Can Burn Forests When dry, windy weather combines with heavy fuels, wildfires can rage out of control, burning trees and threatening homes. Serious wildfires burned in Florida in 1998 and 1999. Many thousands of acres of forest were burned. Because there was so much fuel on the ground and the weather was so dry, these fires quickly moved up vines and small trees, called ladder fuels, and raced through the forest canopy. When hot wildfires burn over normally moist forest soils with deep organic matter, they can sterilize the soil and make it difficult for plants to resprout.
16: Wildfires of 1998
Wildfire Threatens Homes and People The 1998 fires damaged or destroyed 330 homes and businesses in Florida. The wildfires caused external damage to some homes, like melted vinyl soffits and siding. Other homes were not so lucky. Fire-fighting efforts to protect homes in high-risk areas cost more than $800 million dollars in 1998.
17: 330 homes damaged or destroyed
Causes of Wildfire in Florida In Florida's past, fires were caused by lightning. Today, human activities such as escaped debris fires, arson, and carelessness start more Florida fires than lightning.
18: Causes of wildfire in Florida
Preventing Wildfire in Florida The best way to reduce the chance of wildfire is to reduce the ground-level vegetation fuels that feed fires in Florida. Homeowners who are at high risk for wildfire have several options for reducing vegetation. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Grazing, herbicides, or mechanical treatments--such as mowing and thinning trees--can help reduce fuels that might feed a fire. Only one tool mimics nature's strategy for reducing fuel: Prescribed fire.
19: Vegetation reduction
Advantages of Prescribed Fire Besides reducing vegetation fuels, prescribed fire maintains and supports the natural forest ecosystem, nourishes young plants, and improves wildlife habitat. Prescribed fire may be used in combination with the other vegetation reduction techniques.
20: Prescribed fire: The ecological preference
Wildfire vs. Prescribed Fire The combination of dry, windy weather and heavy fuels can cause uncontrollably hot wildfires. As we have learned from the 1998 and 1999 wildfires, these types of fires can be very damaging and very expensive to fight. Prescribed fire is planned to be a much more controlled and cooler type of fire. Prescribed fires are only carried out if the permitted prescription is met. Prescribed fires can benefit the natural ecosystem and can help prevent wildfires in the future.
21: Wildfire vs. prescribed fire (Summary)
Prescribed Fire
22: Title slide
Introduction to Prescribed Fire Because Florida is so developed, fire can not spread across the landscape as it once did. Roads, farms, and communities stand between the patches of undeveloped lands that need to burn. Land managers can set small controlled fires to mimic natural fires. These controlled burns are called prescribed fires because they are planned for a prescribed area and time, and a permit is issued by the Florida Division of Forestry.
23: Setting a prescribed fire
Prescribed Fire Planning The controlled fires used by land managers are carefully planned for specific conditions of fuels, wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature, and smoke dispersion. If the weather on the burn day does not match the prescription, the fire is not set. Prescribed fires are designed to meet a land management goal, such as restoring a fire-dependent ecosystem, enhancing forage for cattle, improving wildlife habitat, or reducing hazardous fuel loads.
24: Planning for a prescribed fire
Prescribed Fire in Florida's Ecosystems The nature of the vegetation can make prescribed fires look different in various ecosystems. Scrub fires burn hot with flames up to 50 feet tall, while the medium-intensity flames of a flatwoods burn can be 3 to 15 feet tall, and the relatively cool fire on a typical longleaf pine sandhill will stay under 3 feet tall.
25: Prescribed fire in flatwoods
The Future of Prescribed Fire Planning The Florida Division of Forestry (DOF) uses a sophisticated prescribed fire planning tool for land managers in Florida. Based on weather and fuel conditions, the DOF will be able to predict a smoke plume before a fire is set. Prescribed fires are not permitted if they are predicted to send smoke toward sensitive facilities such as roads, hospitals, or schools.
26: Computer screen for smoke planning
After a Prescribed Fire The day after a prescribed fire, vegetation begins to grow back. Wildlife moves back into the area birds forage for insects exposed by the fire and deer browse on the new vegetation. Several months after the fire, the vegetation is back and the forest is open. A year later, the only evidence of fire is the black bark on some of the trees, yet many benefits from the fire remain. There are fewer pest insects and more native insects, providing food for songbirds and game birds; fire-dependent plants flower and produce seed, providing food for wildlife; and the forest is a more open place for hiking and bird watching.
27: A few days after a prescribed fire
28: 3 months after a prescribed fire
29: One year after a prescribed fire
Smoke and Air Quality Smoke is a normal component of all fires. To have the many benefits of prescribed fire, neighbors and travelers may have to tolerate smoke in the air. Drivers should be extremely careful when traveling near a fire, as the smoke can become dense enough to block vision. Smoke may also aggravate health concerns in weakened individuals because of the small particles that enter the lungs. Smoke from fires, however, contributes only about 5% of the particulate matter in the air of the eastern U.S. Prescribed fires will not be authorized if smoke will move toward sensitive areas. Prescribed fires generally produce less smoke than wildfire burning the same area. Land managers can reduce fuel loads before a fire to reduce smoke.
30: Prescribed fires cause some smoke
Perceptions of Benefits and Concerns of Prescribed Fire Under most conditions, benefits are realized and concerns are unfounded. When prescribed fires are hot, or when fuels are too heavy, some concerns may become fact. Very few prescribed fires escape because of the skill and experience of prescribed fire teams and careful planning.
31: Perceptions about prescribed fire (Summary)
Protecting Florida Homes From Wildfire
32: Title slide
Protecting Your Home From Wildfire There are a number of things residents can do to protect their homes from wildfire. In some parts of Florida, preparing for wildfire is just as important as preparing for hurricanes or other natural disasters. Being prepared ahead of time can provide you with a measure of insurance against catastrophe. The first step to being prepared is to assess the level of risk from wildfire at your home or business.
33: Prepare for wildfire: Look at the neighborhood
Assessing Your Risk from Wildfire Look at the land use surrounding your home or business to determine your risk in the event of a wildfire. If you live in a subdivision surrounded by homes and lawns, or in an urban area, it is unlikely that a wildfire would reach your home. Like the majority of Floridians, you are at low risk of wildfire. If you have undeveloped or wooded land near your home, you could be at some risk from wildfire. If you think you may be at risk, examine the type of vegetation near your home. Pay attention to the type, size, and density of the ground-level vegetation and debris, as these are the primary fuels for wildfire.
34: Are you at risk?
Low or No Risk If you live in an area that has broad-leaf trees and sparse ground-level vegetation, you are generally at low risk for wildfire. If you are surrounded by improved pasture or widely spaced grasses and plants, there probably isn't enough ground-level vegetation to carry a fire or to enable heat to build up. Moist forests and oak trees are other good indicators of low risk.
35: Little or no risk
High Risk Homes adjacent to undeveloped areas with palmettos, thick shrubs, and lot of pine needles on the ground are at high risk of wildfire. Dense smaller trees, vines climbing tall pine trees, and impenetrable shrubs are good indicators of a high-risk situation, especially if you can't see through the neighboring natural area. Without fuel reduction, your property could be in danger of wildfire. If you live in a high-risk area, there are a number of steps that you can take to reduce your risk.
36: A high fire hazard
Reduce Risk If you live in a high risk area, you can do several things to reduce your risk. Create a zone of defensible space around your home. Get together with your neighbors to encourage the use of prescribed fire and to create a fire-safe community.
37: What can you do: Reduce risk!
Creating Defensible Space Homeowners who have determined that they are at high risk for wildfire should create a zone around their homes for fire protection purposes. This zone is called defensible space. Your defensible space should be wide enough to allow fire trucks to get around your house. Keep plantings away from the house and isolated from each other. Move flammable objects like compost piles, woodpiles, and gas grills away from the house. You should keep some trees, particularly on the east and west sides for energy saving shade, but their crowns should not touch. Reducing your risk is the best insurance against wildfire, but you also can maintain a yard is natural and environmentally sound.
38: Defensible space saves houses 39: Create defensible space
40: Reduce ground vegetation
41: Trim and separate trees
42: Home maintenance
43: Keep environmental practices
Defending Entire Communities from Wildfire It may be easier to protect entire developments or communities from wildfire. Homeowners and people purchasing new homes in Florida should ask whether the development is a fire-safe community. Fire-safe communities are designed to be easily defended against wildfire, are designed with fire-safe homes and landscapes, and are designed to accommodate prescribed fire or other vegetation reduction measures. Features include buffer zones or fire breaks between homes and undeveloped areas, water sources for fire fighting, multiple access routes, and phased development to avoid prolonged exposure of homes to undeveloped lots. Homeowners in existing developments should work with local and state fire officials to improve the safety of their communities. Residents of high-risk areas should support the use of prescribed fire for vegetative fuel reduction, and tolerate the temporary smoke that goes along with reducing risk.
44: Fire-safe community
Protecting Homes from Wildfire in Florida The first step to protecting your home is to assess your risk. If you determine that you live in a high risk area, you can increase the protection of your home by creating defensible space. Even if you do not live in a high risk area, you can still educate your community about wildfires and prescribed fires. Encourage the use of prescribed fire and tolerate the smoke when a prescribed fire is done in your area.
45: Protecting your home from wildfire (Summary)
Fire in Florida Fire has always played an important natural role in Florida's history and will continue to do so. Recent fire exclusion has led to an increase in fuels that can cause dangerous wildfires. Steps can be taken to help protect homes and communities from wildfires. These efforts should include the use of prescribed fire that can decrease the chance of wildfires and can benefit natural areas.
46: Fire in Florida (Summary)
47: Image of fire
Credits
48: Credits slide
Table 3. Sample Script--Fire in Lincoln County
Sample Script--Fire in Lincoln County
Slide # and title
Fire in Florida
1: Title slide
The Natural Role and History of Fire in Florida
3: Title slide
Florida has warm weather most of the year, distinct wet and dry seasons, and mild winters. These semi-tropical conditions provide lots of vegetation to feed fires in dry times.
4: Florida's geography
Florida's ecosystems are adapted to frequent fire. Two of Florida's more common fire-adapted ecosystems that we have here in Lincoln County are pine flatwoods and pine sandhills. 5: Florida's ecosystems
Plants and animals that are native to Florida also are adapted to fire, and some require periodic fire to flourish. Fire generally is a healthy and cleansing force in Florida's ecosystems. 6: Fire-adapted species
Historically, periodic fires burned over much of the Florida landscape. Low-level fires burned in the sandhills every 2 to 5 years. Fires that were a little bit hotter burned the pine flatwoods and prairies every 3 to 7 years. The sand pine and oak scrub ecosystems in Florida depend on hot fires every 10 to 50 years. Even Florida's swamps have periodic fires, every 50 to 100 years!
9: Fire frequency in FL ecosystems
Prior to the 20th century, Florida experienced frequent low-level fires caused by early settlers, Native Americans, and lightning. This resulted in open, park-like forests and fire-adapted ecosystems. Since the 20th century, an increasing human population and fire exclusion to encourage a young forest industry led to a build-up of fuels that has resulted in catastrophic wildfires.
12: History of fire in Florida
Two Kinds of Fire in Florida: Wildfire and Prescribed Fire
13: Title slide
There are two kinds of fire in Florida. One type is wildfire that can burn out of control, threaten homes, and damage forests. Wildfires are intensely hot and move quickly across the ground and through the tops of the trees.
14: Wildfires are costly to fight
Serious wildfires burned in Florida in 1998, brought on by severe drought, years of fire exclusion, high fuel loads, high winds, and low humidity. Nearly 500,000 acres of forest were burned.
16: Wildfires of 1998
The 1998 fires damaged or destroyed 330 homes and businesses in Florida. Fire-fighting efforts to protect homes in high-risk areas cost more than $800 million dollars in 1998.
17: 330 homes damaged or destroyed
In Florida's past, fires were caused by lightning. Today, human activities such as escaped debris fires, arson, and carelessness start even more Florida fires than lightning.
18: Causes of wildfire in Florida
The best way to reduce the chance of wildfire is to reduce ground-level vegetation fuels that feed fires in Florida. Homeowners who are at high risk for wildfire have several options for reducing vegetation: grazing, herbicides, or mechanical treatments. Only one tool mimics nature's strategy for reducing fuel: prescribed fire. 19: Vegetation reduction
Prescribed Fire
22: Title slide
Prescribed fire is the second type of fire in Florida. Land managers can set small controlled fires to mimic natural fires. These controlled burns are called prescribed fires because a permit is issued by the Florida Division of Forestry for burning under prescribed and safe conditions. Prescribed fires are typically cooler than wildfires, burning the vegetation and debris at the ground.
23: Setting a prescribed fire
The controlled fires used by land managers are carefully planned for specific conditions of fuels, wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature, and smoke dispersion. If the weather on the burn day does not match the prescription, the fire is not set.
24: Planning for a prescribed fire
The day after a prescribed fire, vegetation begins to grow back. Soon, wildlife moves back into the area. Birds forage for insects exposed by the fire and deer browse on new vegetation.
28: 3 months after a prescribed fire
A year later, the only evidence of fire is the black bark on some of the trees, yet many benefits from the fire remain. There are fewer pest insects and more native insects, providing food for songbirds and game birds; fire-dependent plants flower and produce seed, providing food for wildlife; and the forest is a more open place for hiking and bird watching.
29: One year after a prescribed fire
Smoke is a normal component of all fires. To have the many benefits of prescribed fire, neighbors and travelers may have to tolerate more smoke in the air. Prescribed fires will not be authorized if smoke will move toward sensitive areas. Prescribed fires generally produce less smoke than a wildfire burning the same area.
30: Prescribed fires cause some smoke
Prescribed fire has many benefits. It can prevent wildfire, mimic natural fire, increase soil fertility, reduce weeds, improve wildlife habitat, and open up forests. When prescribed fires are hot, when fuels are too heavy, or when winds change unexpectedly, these concerns may become reality. However, the magnitude of such negative effects is usually very small and of little consequence.
31: Perceptions about prescribed fire
Footnotes
1. This document is FOR 74, a chapter in the Wildland Fire Education Handbook, Circular 1245, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published in January 2000; revised in March 2000. Reviewed August 2006. Part of this publication may be reproduced for educational use, please provide credit to the School of Forest Resources and Conservation. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Martha C. Monroe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Susan Marynowski, Program Coordinator, Alison Bowers, Program Coordinator, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.