FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 6, 2025
Protecting Georgians from wildfires is job one for the Georgia Forestry Commission. An important tool for keeping our state safe is being highlighted February 2-8, 2025, during “Prescribed Fire Awareness Week.”
Also known as “good fire,” prescribed fire is the application of fire to a landscape to achieve specific environmental objectives. That includes reducing vegetative debris that can fuel catastrophic wildfires. Governor Kemp’s official 2025 Prescribed Fire Awareness Week proclamation highlights this forest management tool as one of the most environmentally and economically feasible methods for managing the state’s valuable forest resources.
“The ecological benefits of prescribed fire are widely understood,” said Georgia Forestry Commission Director Johnny Sabo. “What may get overlooked is how a strong prescribed fire program protects everyone, including firefighters, from the threat of catastrophic wildfires. Prescribed Fire Awareness Week brings light to this essential practice. With the support of our partners from other state and federal agencies, NGO’s, and private practitioners, our dedicated GFC team is bringing more prescribed fire benefits to Georgia.”
Practitioners are trained in applying fire for a number of purposes in addition to preventive clearing. Fire opens up landscapes and promotes new growth, which is attractive to wildlife. White-tailed deer and many songbirds are known to flourish in prescribed burned areas and fire is essential to native longleaf pine and other ecosystems. “Good fires” are critical to preparing land for reforestation. Aesthetics are also enhanced by carefully executed prescribed burning.
The GFC works closely with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division to ensure healthy air quality whenever prescribed fire is used.
“Prescribed fire practitioners want to protect all of us,” said Shan Cammack, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Fire Management Officer and Chair of the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council. “Every prescribed fire includes a plan to manage smoke and we take every step to minimize the impact on residents.”
Prescribed fire is a safe, effective tool that mimics a natural process. It sustains ecosystem health while reducing fuel build-ups that can feed dangerous wildfires. With new technology, such as drones, and by understanding local weather, prescribed fire can be applied and completed more efficiently to meet the needs of Georgia’s forest landscape.
To learn more about prescribed fire, explore resources from the Georgia Forestry Commission here: GFC Prescribed Burning.
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