Six prescribed burns in 2013

An especially wet winter and spring this year curtailed the usual number of prescribed burns on U-S forest land in Oconee County. In 2013, one half dozen burns were conducted, including the sixth and final one Monday near Salem. Mike Crane, District Ranger, said, “We usually hope to burn more than that (4,000-5,000 acres) each winter and spring, but this has been a particularly wet year.” According to the USFS, benefits from burning include the promotion of plant species that need periodic fire like 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.”