This April marks the first anniversary of the prescribed Carlton Reserve fire that resulted in some very non-prescribed events. As with any infamous event, there are lessons to be learned that should safeguard against a reoccurrence. And there are lessons that could advance beyond safeguards and be a long-term benefit to the community.
The most obvious lesson derived from the Carlton fire is that human habitats and wildland fires are inherently incompatible. Several suggestions have been offered to resolve this human/fire incompatibility, including: don’t build houses near wildlands, destroy the wildlands, or ensure that the wildlands and houses are protected from one another. In the aftermath of a destructive wildfire, you
may hear an additional suggestion, and that is, don’t burn the wildlands. Let me explain why this latter option is unrealistic. Stopping fires from burning homes within the pinelands of south Florida is not unlike stopping earthquakes from destroying homes straddling the San Andreas Fault. It is not a question of if they will burn, rather when they will.
The pine forest habitats in Sarasota have burned every two to five years for thousands of years. The plants and animals that thrive in these environs are not only adapted to fires, they are dependent upon them. In fact, they are so dependent, that they cannot survive long term without fire. The pines trees themselves ensure that frequent fires occur by attracting lighting strikes that start the fire. The trees then carry the fire throughout the landscape with their highly flammable needles. Imagine gasoline soaked straw and you have a fairly accurate description of pine needles.
Historic records from early pioneers describe the frequent wildfires of Sarasota as low burning and of medium to low intensity. For the most part these historic fires burned low-growing palmetto and grasses and were relatively cool. An old cracker story suggested the way to escape a pine-prairie fire is to first step over it with one leg, then the other. However, under the misguided impression that we were saving the forest by extinguishing these naturally occurring fires, the plants that fuel the fires accumulated and the fires became hotter, more intense, and flames grew to heights previously unheard of. As we have seen throughout the U.S., such as in Yellowstone, California and now Florida, controlling these unnatural and catastrophic fires is extraordinarily difficult, expensive and very dangerous. Sooner or later these volatile unburned pinelands will catch fire and burn, either by lightning, an errant cigarette, or a kid playing with matches.
On 1-75 between exits 34 and 33 (mile markers 187 and 189) in North Port, you can see the positive results of the Carlton fire where it did burn, in stark contrast to the areas that did not burn. The burned area is now characterized with low growing palmettos, numerous grass and widely scattered pines. These open vistas and herbaceous ground cover created by fire are the real Florida. This is the landscape that attracted early Europeans and sustained aboriginal Floridians. Should this area burn again soon, as it should, the fire will burn low, be more easily controlled and will benefit the indigenous plants and animals that rely upon these naturally occurring, low-intensity fires. On the contrary, the unburned area, with its 20-foot high shrubs, will burn intensely hot, kill many trees and animals and be very difficult to control.
Since the Carlton fire of 1991, Sarasota County has created a firewise coalition comprised of state forestry officials, fire department representatives and personnel from both county and city governments. Both, the negative impacts of the Carlton fire from the human perspective and the beneficial results from the natural perspectives will be used to formulate policies and procedures that will benefit future land management decisions. These decisions will preserve the environmental integrity of the unique natural landscape of Sarasota while not compromising the safety of its citizens.