prescribed burn on Thursday December 6 2012

Date: December 6, 2012
Contact: Linda Friar, 305-242-7714

 Homestead, Florida: Everglades National Park will be conducting a prescribed burn on Thursday December 6, 2012, in the East Everglades District of the park (Chekika).  The general location of the fire is south of 136th Street, North of 168th Street, and West of 218th Avenue. Staff and equipment that have been dedicated to this burn include: 1 helicopter, 2 wild land fire engines, 3 airboats, and one single engine air tanker and approximately 25 firefighters.  Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge will be assisting.

Fire operations are set to begin at about 10:00 a.m. and continue throughout the day (weather permitting). The planned burn area is about 11,254 acres in size. Depending on weather patterns, smoke may be visible in  the eastern portion of the park, however there
should be no impact on roadways.

Controlled burns are an important part of resource management at Everglades National Park. Information on the fire management program at the park can be found on the park website at  https://www.nps.gov/ever/ parkmgmt/firemanagement.htm.

Any questions on this burn can be routed to Everglades National Park at 305-242-7714.