HENDRY COUNTY, Fla. -- The Florida Forest Service will be conducting a 5,000 acre prescribed burn on February 11th at Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest.
According to the forest service, the boundaries of the prescribed burn are open slough marsh and wet fireline on the West side, wet fireline and the forest border on the South sides, the tram line border with Dinner Island on the East side, and wet fireline and open slough marsh on the North side. The forest is positioned East of SR-29 S, South of LaBelle (SR 80), and North of Immokalee. Motorists and residents should exercise caution in the area.
The prescribed burn will help to reduce the understory made up of saw palmetto and gallberry, pine needles, leaf litter, and grassy surface fuels. The fire is a form of ecological maintenance that to reduce hazardous fuels for wildfire safety.