FOR HELP Landowners wanting to report fence losses may call the federal Farm Service Agency at 533-2051. Some of the trees are gone forever, leaving only seeds to take their place. But all is not bleak in this picture. Bits of green have begun to reappear in some treetops, as if peeking out to see whether the coast is clear before attempting a full bloom. Pasture grass is green and lush, and twisted, charcoal-colored palmetto stumps are bursting with new fronds.
Nature can recover from a wildfire, it just takes time.
For Green Swamp residents, recovery also takes labor and, more importantly, money. Firefighters were able to save all 1,500 houses in the fire area. The only structure lost was a barn belonging to Polk County firefighter Beth Haley. But miles of fences were destroyed by the fire that swept through the sparsely populated region north of Interstate 4. Fence posts burned and wires melted.