The forest was up in smoke but not how you would think. This was a controlled burn in Ocala National Forest as the sun was going down in the west. Controlled burns are to help prevent forest fires that could spread quickly with the slightest ignition. These burns protect homes and property from future intentional arsonist, accidental fires or fires caused by lightning strikes. Another benefit to controlled burning (also known as prescribed burning) is to keep the forest healthy by reducing fuel from dropped leaves and thick growth. In addition, it may improve wildlife habitat by controlling competing vegetation, improving short term forage for grazing, increased accessibility and helps control tree disease.
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22 responses to “SQUARES – Up in Smoke”
Glad it is a safe burn
Yes, they do this periodically throughout the state to keep forest fires from happening since we are the lightning capital of the US. Plus it keeps everything in the forest healthy. 🙂
Gosh, it doesn’t LOOK controlled. Scary
It was. There were park rangers all over with a fire truck nearby just in case. There were no structures in the area.
Ooooooh.
🙂
Thank goodness! I was worried for a moment 🙂 🙂
😊 preventative maintenance!
🙂 🙂
good thing it was a controlled fire…
Yes because it was hot and it could have gotten out of control pretty quick. 😊
good thing the firefighters knew what they were doing…
Absolutely. The wind had picked up a little too.
winds seem to make fires so much worse…
Yes it does. Jump one little ember to another part and poof!
scary…
oh i thought it was the real thing! 🙂
LOL. It was the real thing except it was on purpose and monitored. I guess I got a lot folks with this one. 😳
That sun looks pretty peaking through the smoke!
The sun was what made me take the photo. 😊
They do controlled burns here in South Africa too!
It’s a great thing! 🙂