News Release

Prescribed fire operations planned at Apollo Beach

Date: February 12, 2020
Contact: Laura Henning

Canaveral National Seashore is planning to implement prescribed burn operations in the Apollo Beach (New Smyrna Beach) Fire Management Unit. The project area includes seven units for a total area of 1,269 acres.
 
The Apollo Beach Burn Plan was developed in accordance with Canaveral National Seashore’s Fire Management Plan to support the park’s structural protection plan while allowing fire to play its natural role in the environment.
  
The burn will employ prescribed fire in order to reduce hazardous fuels in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), protect structures and cultural resources adjacent to the burn unit, and to promote a healthy fire frequency. This will be a joint operation with Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The purpose is to reduce unnaturally high levels of fuel that could ignite from lightning strikes during the summer. The operation will also improve habitat for the federally protected Florida Scrub Jay and Eastern Indigo Snake.

 The date of the fire is determined by the appropriate weather conditions as indicated in the seashore’s burn plan prescription; as such, no specific date has been set for the burn. The team will be looking at a window of time beginning as soon as February 12^th, 2020.
 
Disruption to seashore operations will include a closure of the Apollo Beach area during ignition operations. This closure could last between 1-3 days. Every effort will be made to minimize visitor impacts. The closure will be lifted as soon as it is determined by park mangers to be safe for the visiting public.
 
Public safety is paramount. Canaveral National Seashore staff and its partners are working together to ensure a safe and successful burn event.
 
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram @CanaveralNatlSeashore