Do you really need to burn?
by Bob Rhea, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist, Florida Division of Forestry
With the arrival of spring, many Florida Panhandle residents will spend hours cleaning and doing yard work in preparation for summer. Now that you’ve completed a weekend of hard work clipping, trimming, weeding and raking, what do you do next? Burning the debris in an open ditch, alongside the road or in the back of your property is not the solution – nor is it lawful.
The year-to-date fire activity recorded for 2002 shows that Florida has had 789 wildfires burning 8,202 acres throughout the state. Escaped fires resulting from careless and unlawful burning are responsible for 225 of those fires; arson is responsible for 116 wildfires. Statewide, Florida is currently experiencing about 20 wildfires each day.
Many people in Florida are not aware of the outdoor burning regulations and assume they have a right to burn on their property. If a fire should get away and escape your property, you are liable for suppression costs. In addition, you may be responsible under civil statues for damage or destruction to other homes and properties. Keep in mind that smoke creating a nuisance to others also must be extinguished. Certain materials are always illegal to burn. These include tires and other rubber materials, roofing materials, plastic and creosoted lumber. Items that fall into this category must be disposed by means other than burning.
Over the past century, our population has tripled, with much of the growth flowing into traditionally natural areas. Cities have grown into suburbs and suburbs have blended into what was once considered rural Florida. This movement has created an extremely complex landscape that has come to be known as the wildland/urban interface. Encroaching development into forests, grasslands and farms is resulting in numerous infrastructure problems, including catastrophic wildfires, which increasingly threaten lives, homes and businesses. Escape fire has significantly contributed to a problem that is in your control.
The wildland/urban interface is not a geographical location, but a set of conditions that exist in every community, even where you live, conditions, which can make every community vulnerable to a disastrous wildfire. Where wildfires historically occurred in forested or other wildland areas, they now frequently happen in Florida’s backyards, and the risk will continue to grow as the interface is developed.
The number one cause of wildfires in Florida is fires escaped from an individual’s property while yard trash is burning. Yard trash means vegetative matter resulting from landscaping and yard maintenance operations and includes materials such as tree and shrub trimmings, grass clippings, palm fronds, trees and tree stumps; it does not include household garbage. In most all cases, these escaped fires are a result of carelessness and lack of preparedness before the fire is started.
You must consider many variables before burning that small pile of yard debris. What are the local conditions? First of all, are there local or county ordinances that prohibit burning? Do you have a barrel or pit with a wire mesh cover to burn debris? Do you have the proper tools and a source of water readily available? How dry is the surrounding area? What is the relative humidity? Are the winds light or gusty and from which direction are they blowing?
You May Burn If:
1. No local or county ordinance forbids it.
2. The material to be burned is generated on the premises where it is burned, and the premises are occupied by no more than two family units.
3. The fire is attended at all times and you have a source of water available.
4. The fires do not cause smoke, soot, odors, visible emissions, heat, flame, radiation, or other conditions to the degree that they become a nuisance.
5. The fire is started after 9 a.m. and is out by one hour after sunset.
6. The burning is enclosed in a noncombustible container, barrel or pit, or ground excavation covered by a metal mesh or grill.
7. The moisture content and composition of the material to be burned is favorable to good burning so that air pollution is minimized. Green or wet material may not be burned.
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