Wild (cough cough) fires

  This is Paul Janensch with a Treasure Coast Essay about (cough cough) wildfires. Last month, the Florida Forest Service responded to 23 in our three counties. Sixteen were caused by lightning strikes. Some threw off lots of smoke. Less rainfall than normal this time of year was to blame. The most acreage burned was in Martin County’s Jones/Hungryland Wildlife Environmental area. One third of Florida’s population now live in places where structures are vulnerable to wildfires. If your house is close to nature, the Forest Service recommends that you maintain a 30-foot zone around it that is lean, clean and green. Lean means just small amounts of live vegetation. Clean means no accumulation of mulch or dead vegetation. Green means plants are healthy and the lawn is irrigated. I’m Paul (cough cough) Janensch.