For Immediate Release

May 26, 2014

Memorial Day Fires Part 3:
Give it everything youve got
The days and weeks around the Memorial Day Holiday traditionally produce some of
the larger and more difficult wildfires for the Florida Forest Services Blackwater
District. This is the third part in a si!part series looking "ack at some of the more
memora"le fire events that have occurred around the holiday in the past few years.
INDIAN BAYOU FIRE, May 27, 2010: Generally speaking, there are two ways to fight a
fire; passively using natural fire breaks such as roads, creeks, rivers and such with limited
equipment and minimal impact, or you can go aggressive and bring in lots of iron
bulldozers equipped with large plows to prevent the fire from spreading. The !"#acre $ndian
%ayou &ire in '(' was fought aggressively. )ery aggressively.
The fire started north of $ndian %ayou a small outflow *ust south of $nterstate (' along
+valon %oulevard in ,ilton. This area is part of the Garcon -oint peninsula one of the
most infamous strips of land in the three#county %lackwater .istrict. Garcon is known among
&orest /ervice folks for a few things0 wet, marshy terrain, heavy fuel loading mi1ed with
sporadic home sites and significant fire behavior and history. There have been more than 2'
fires on Garcon for a total *ust over (,''' acres since ''" and two of our si1 featured fires
in this series were on the point.
Given the circumstances, aggressive was the only way to go.
34e had fire on land that hasn5t been burned in forever,6 said .avid /mith, 7perations
+dministrator for %lackwater and eventual $ncident 8ommander of the fire. 3$t was moving
into some timber that also had not seen fire in a long time.
CONTINUED
Joe !ier"#$o!s%i
$nformation 7fficer94ildfire ,itigation /pecialist
&lorida &orest /ervice %lackwater &orestry 8enter
:#mail0 ;oe.<wierzchowski=freshfromflorida.com
8ellular0 >?'#'@#@!?
7ffice0 >?'#"?!#@(A' e1t (!
3Beavy fuel loading, erratic winds and the history of the area made the decision pretty
simple.6
4ithin the first ? minutes of taking on
suppression efforts, there were three
tractor9plow units and a helicopter en route to
the fire. %y the time it was contained *ust five
and a half hours later there were nine
bulldozers on scene with several more on
standby in neighboring counties.
:ven with the numbers in our favor, the fire
was tough to contain. The blaze, sparked by an
escaped prescribed burn on neighboring land,
*umped the bayou before firefighters could arrive
on scene, forcing them to split their resources
and deal with it as almost two separate fires.
The two fires eventually would become three as
sparks carried through the volatile fuels and
*umped containment lines by almost 2'' yards.
The third piece of the fire was up and running on
Corthwest &lorida 4ater ,anagement .istrict
land and heading toward homes along ,ary
Ditchens Eoad.
4ith the number of resources on hand,
&orest /ervice crews were able to stop the
blaze before it really got close to the homes and
contained the fire *ust before nightfall.
+s mentioned, the cause of the fire was an
escaped burn. The burn was authorized and the
contractor conducting it is a certified prescribed
burner and had proper equipment in palce
even his own bulldozer and water supply. This
incident proves that even well#trained
professionals can run into issues when dealing
with fire and serves to illustrate the importance
of taking any and all safety precautions.
CONTINUED
I&dia& Bayo'
Fire
()EN: ,ay !, '('
()ERE: +valon %lvd,
/anta Eosa 8ounty
DURA*ION: ? days
+IE: !" acres
,AU+E: :scaped burn0
8ontractor clearing land
and conducting a small
prescribed burn. The fire
escaped the established
lines and the contractor5s
crews were unable to stop
the blaze. Fnder &lorida
statue ?$#.''@, he was
issued a Cotice of )iolation
and charged G',2?A.A@ in
suppression costs.
E-UI.MEN* RE-UIRED:
Cine tractor9plow units
Three brush trucks
Belicopter
Belicopter mechanic truck
/E++ON /EARNED: :ven
trained professionals can
have difficulties with fire. $t
is essential to have safety
precautions in place when
conducting any kind of
burning operation around
your home or property.
Bere are some simple tips for homeowners to follow if they decide to burn yard debris0
The fire must be 25 feet from any
forested area (grasslands, brush or
wildlands).
25 feet from your home or other
combustible structure.
50 feet from any paved or public
roadway.
150 from any occupied dwelling other
than your own home.
egal burning hours are between !
a.m. and one hour before sunset.
"t is illegal to burn household garbage
(including paper products), treated
lumber, plastics, rubber materials, tires,
pesticide, paint and aerosol containers.
#iles greater than ! feet in diameter will
re$uire authori%ation from the &lorida
&orest 'ervice.
(lear down to bare, mineral soil around
your pile to prevent the fire from
spreading.
)on*t burn on windy days.
+ever leave a fire unattended , even
for a moment.
-rass fires can spread $uic.ly. /e
prepared. 0eep handy a water hose,
shovel or other means to put out the
fire.
1a.e sure the fire is completely out before leaving it , no smo.e and no heat.
"f your fire escapes, you might be held liable for the cost of suppression and damages to the
property of others.
MEMORAB/E FIRE+ AROUND MEMORIA/ DAY 0 RE/EA+E DA*E, FIRE NAME, DA*E OF FIRE
,ay '0 :lvis Eoad &ire, ,ay (, '( /anta Eosa 8ounty ?? acres
,ay 20 Giese Hane &ire ,ay ?, '(2 :scambia 8ounty '( acres
May 21: I&dia& Bayo' Fire, May 27, 2010 0 +a&ta Rosa ,o'&ty 0 272 a#res
,ay >0 +valon Bangar &ire ,ay ", '(2 /anta Eosa 8ounty (?? acres
,ay >0 Corth /anta Eosa &ires ,ay ", '(2 /anta Eosa 8ounty " separate fires
in one general area for @2.? acres
,ay 2'0 ,ain .rive ;une , '(( 7kaloosa 8ounty "? acres
END