Forest Service plans burn near Ransom Middle School
MILTON, Fla. – The Florida Forest Service, in conjunction with Ransom Middle School and the Escambia County School Board, is planning a 100-acre prescribed burn in the coming weeks. After a recent wildfire caused smoke issues near the Cantonment school, the plan is to conduct a burn on county-owned property in order to reduce the risk of future wildfires, eliminate potential smoke issues and allow the school board to better utilize the field adjacent to the school.
“We’ve had two fires there in the past year,” said Adam Parden, the FFS’s Forest Area Supervisor for Escambia County. “This will help eliminate future fires and let the school be able to put their field back in working order.”
The field is overgrown with weeds and grass and Forest Service crews already have established fire breaks around the perimeter. With school out of session for the holidays and rain forecast for the weekend, the next two weeks provide an ideal window for this operation. Given the light fuel load of the area, the burn should only take a few hours and smoke is not expected to linger in the area afterward.
The operation is part of the Forest Service’s wildfire mitigation program and will help protect more than $30 million in structures including Ransom Middle School’s facilities.
The Florida Forest Service manages more than 1 million acres of public forest land while protecting 26 million acres of homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire. For more information about the Florida Forest Service, go to www.FloridaForestService.com.
