TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced the Florida Forest Service’s record-setting year of applying prescribed fire during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The agency set a new annual record with 277,818 total acres treated for the year on State Forests. Prescribed fire reduces hazardous fuel buildups and the chances of catastrophic wildfires.
“Prescribed fire is one of the best and most reliable tools we have to combat the dangers of wildfires in our state,” said Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “We more than doubled last year’s prescribed fire total, confirming our agency’s commitment to protecting Florida’s homes, businesses, and natural resources in wildfire-prone areas.”
In the past fiscal year — which ran from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024 — the Florida Forest Service more than doubled last year’s prescribed fire total of 131,628 acres treated and surpassed the previous annual record of 246,104 acres from 2014-2015.
“I’m proud to say the Florida Forest Service has surpassed 200,000 acres prescribed burned in three of the past six years,” said Florida Forest Service Director Rick Dolan. “We also exceeded our annual goal of 266,059 acres entering the fiscal year.”
Additionally, the Florida Forest Service set a new monthly record for prescribed fire this year, totaling 94,087 acres in February.
In addition to mitigating catastrophic wildfires, prescribed fire also supports disease control in young forests, wildlife habitat improvement, range management, preservation of endangered plant and animal species, and maintenance of fire-dependent ecosystems.
The Florida Forest Service manages more than one million acres of State Forests and provides forest management assistance on over seventeen million acres of private and community forests. The service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland, and natural resources from wildfire effects.
For more information about Commissioner Simpson and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), visit FDACS.gov.
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