Florida Forest Service, local firefighters, contain 130-acre fire near Ormond Beach

Ormond Beach Observer

Florida Forest Service wildland firefighters and local fire departments contained a 130-acre wildfire in the area of Clyde Morris Boulevard, south of Hand Avenue, by 11 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9.

The fire was not a prescribed burn, said Julie Allen, wildfire mitigation specialist for the Florida Forest Service, the agency which led the wildfire response. The agency is continuing to improve containment lines around the impacted area on Friday, Feb. 10.

"Now that it is safe to do so, we will have our wildland firefighters out here seeing if they can determine a cause of this fire," Allen said.

According to the Florida Forest Service's Facebook page, the fire was first reported as a 15-acre fire in the afternoon and later in the evening as a 60-acre fire. Firefighters were able to protect 75 homes — the wildfire occurred close to the rear of the Cypress Trail and Birchwood subdivisions off Clyde Morris Boulevard — with seven dozers, two brush units and local fire departments on the scene. Police and fire from Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach and Volusia County Fire Rescue aided in the suppression efforts.

Some claims circulated on social media that the wildfire was a result of a prescribed burn, where officials intentionally set fire to a controlled area to help improve or maintain the natural habitat.

"This was definitely a wildfire," Allen said, adding that the priority of the agency was to protect the homes nearby.

This is the second fire in the area this week. Two fires burned about 28 acres of land between Cypress Trail Drive and Oak Street near Ormond Beach on Monday,

Prescribed burn vs. wildfire

Florida is a fire dependent ecosystem, Allen said. When there was no development, the state would burn naturally, and this would help eliminate harmful vegetation in the environment, as well as help trees grow.

"Just like when you go to your doctor, there is a prescription, there is a plan," Allen said. "There are so many incredible details that go into planning a purposeful set of parameters into applying fire to the ground."

Unlike western states like California, Florida doesn't have a "fire season." The state can burn year round.

"Last night, I was telling some of the residents in the community — I said, 'Listen, in the morning, I want you to grab a cup of coffee, sit on your back porch and watch the spectacle of all of these beautiful animals that will come and feed on the ash from that fire.' Because it is filled with so many beautiful nutrients that they love and that's what they depend on."

Feb. 6. Those fires, however, have been determined to be human-caused, Allen said.

"However, we do not know if it was accidental or purposeful," Allen said. "So our agriculture law enforcement and our local law enforcement are investigating the cause of that."

Florida is a fire dependent ecosystem, Allen said.