Aiken, SC (WRDW / WAGT) – Fourteen prescribed fires are being lit by the South Carolina Forestry Commission in the Sumter National Forest and surrounding areas to reduce the possibility of wildfires out of control in the future.
The prescribed fires started earlier this month and will continue until the end of spring.
Fires are lit for risk reduction to get rid of highly flammable forest debris that can easily burn in forest fires. By reducing this burnable vegetation, professionals reduce the risk and severity of forest fires and protect wildlife habitats. For fire managers, this vegetation, including grass, trees, overgrown vegetation and logging, is known as fuel.
When starting these fires, employees carefully check the weather to ensure that they can keep the fires under control and create the minimum amount of smoke that will reach the populated areas.
The South Carolina Forestry Commission has this map to show current prescribed fires in Georgia and South Carolina.
The fires that are currently in Aiken County include seven risk reduction fires, four wildlife management fires, two wood control fires and a field / pasture fire.
Five risk reduction fires and a wildlife management fire were lit in the Sumter National Forest, covering approximately 1,467 acres of land.
The remaining fires include:
- A risk reduction fire near Highway I-20 in Aiken County spanning 75 acres
- A wood control fire near State Route 78 in Aiken County spanning 501 acres
- A 200-acre wildlife management fire near Terrapin Creek in Saluda County
- A 40-acre wildlife management fire near Sweetwater Road in Edgefield County
- A wildlife management fire near Old Five Notch Road in Edgefield County spanning 25 acres
- A risk reduction fire near Long Cane Rd in Edgefield County spanning 50 acres
- A 51-acre pasture fire near Cooks Bridge Road in Aiken County
- A wood control fire near the Jackson Branch River in Aiken County, spanning 501 acres
- A risk reduction fire near Cedar Springs Rd in Greenwood County spanning 526 acres
This Forest Commission map shows forest fires currently active in Georgia and South Carolina.
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