Wildfire
Are You and Your Neighborhood “Firewise?”
Florida is home to millions of residents who enjoy Florida’s beautiful scenery and warm climate. But few people realize that these qualities also create severe wildfire conditions. Each year, thousands of acres of wildland and many homes are destroyed by fires that can erupt at any time of the year from a variety of causes, including arson, escaped fires, lightning and debris burning. Adding to the fire hazard is the growing number of people living in new communities built in areas that were once wildland. This growth places even greater pressure on the state's wildland firefighters. As a result of this growth, fire protection becomes everyone's responsibility.
 Florida’s forests and natural areas are increasingly affected by human development. This mixture of development and forests – the “wildland-urban interface” (WUI) – has been identified as one of the main challenges for southern forests by the Florida Division of Forestry. The wildland-urban interface is a concept that can be defined from a number of different perspectives. From a natural resource and geographic perspective, the WUI is the zone where increased human influence and land-use conversion are changing and affecting natural areas and natural resource management. Simply, it’s the area where man builds and lives in the wildland areas.
The exclusion of fire from Florida’s natural areas through much of the 20th century has allowed wildland fuels to build up to dangerous levels in many areas. The intersection of homes and forests in the Florida wildland-urban interface has complicated the wildfire problem in recent decades. Losses from fire in the WUI are higher with each extreme wildfire year. The increase in destruction of homes and communities has occurred not just because of an increase in intensity of wildfires, but also because of the increased number of homes being built in or near wildfire-prone areas.
The most important point is the need for shared responsibility in addressing wildfire mitigation efforts. There is a great need for communication and cooperation among communities that are impacted by wildfires and agencies that have the technical expertise and responsibility for developing comprehensive land use plans, for preventing and suppressing wildfires, and for providing fire information to the public.
The key to successful wildfire prevention and protection strategies is through the increased interest and awareness of local citizens, developers, and planners, and the undertaking of local education, planning and preventive actions.
 The “Firewise” Program was developed to do just that. It provides educational and informative tools, programs, and philosophies, as well as, preventative actions to help promote an approach to improve new developments, as well as, existing homes and neighborhoods. How can you and your neighborhood mitigate your homes and your neighborhood against wildfire? Go to www.firewise.org and find out today!
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