Four sessions were carried out between January and May, 2000. A fifth was cancelled due to extreme wildfire activity in Florida. The goal of the center is to provide an accelerated learning opportunity for prescribed fire training with a maximum amount of actual prescribed burning. In a normal fire season students can expect to participate in eight to ten prescribed burns during their stay, depending on the weather conditions. After this training experience, participants should understand the concept of prescribed fire in order to have a quality prescribed fire program and be confident in all of the important attributes.
Prescribed fire has to be learned, even by fire fighting professionals.
Prescribed burning in Florida The topography in Florida is generally flat. The vegetation consists of southern yellow pine stands with brushy undergrowth of gallberry and palmetto. The duff layer is extremely thick and covered with moss. All is dry and burns. Most soils are sandy in Florida and most line construction is done with dozer plows, which is a very efficient procedure.