Prescribed Burns Scheduled For USF Area

TAMPA, FL--Residents living south of Fletcher Avenue between North 53rd Street and Jo Mar Drive shouldn't be alarmed if they see fire or smoke.

The Florida Forest Service in conjunction with the University of South Florida will conduct several prescribed burns in the coming week in this area.

Florida Forest Service personnel have taken precautions to make sure these prescribed burns have the least impact on the neighborhoods and environment in the area including avoiding gopher tortoise burrows.

Containment lines, made using dozers with plows, have been plowed along the yellow lines shown on the map. These lines will keep the fire contained and will be monitored throughout the prescribed burns.

Residents and drivers along Fletcher Ave. might see smoke and some interior burning of larger downed vegetation or stumps during the night.

The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than a million acres of state forests, provides management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests, while protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from wildfire on more than 26 million acres.