Prescribed burn at St. Joseph peninsula this week

There will be a large prescribed burn this week on the St. Joseph Peninsula.

The controlled burn is being done on the north end of St. Joseph Peninsula.

The burn will be ignited today and Tuesday and the Wilderness Preserve, the northern 9 miles of St. Joseph Peninsula, will be closed to the public beginning today until it is deemed safe for the public.

People can expect to see fire and smoke for much of the week.

Prescribed burns are set as a way to clear undergrowth in Florida’s woodlands – lowering the amount of fuel there is to feed wildfires.

Besides cutting down on hazardous ground fuels, prescribed burning also promotes healthy forests and improves wildlife habitats.

Florida has nearly 17 million acres of forestland; on average, the state issues more than 120,000 prescribed burn authorizations to burn over two million acres each year.

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