Six Prescribed Burns in 2013

A wet winter and early spring this year curtailed the number of prescribed burns on U.S. forest land in Oconee County. In 2013, a half dozen burns were conducted, including the sixth and final one Monday near Salem.  The U.S. Forest Service normally tries to burn around  4-5,000 acres each winter and spring.  According to the U.S. Forest Service, benefits from burning include the promotion of plant species that need periodic fire, such as river cane and coneflowers, reducing the amount of fuels that build up on the ground, and improving wildlife habitat by creating more of an open, grassy ground cover.