Dear Refuge Volunteers and Friends,
As many of you have seen or heard by now, we had a prescribed burn
yesterday that jumped over a control line and resulted in a
preliminary estimate of 100 acres burned between the Blue Hole and
the curve on Key Deer Boulevard and west to Watsons Hammock.
Attached is an aerial view of the burn unit boundaries - the
original prescribed burn unit is the 21-acre triangle at the north
end. The fire moved into an adjacent burn unit to the south and
west, and remained entirely with refuge boundaries. Both units
contained predominantly pine rockland.
The Blue Hole and Watson Nature Trails were impacted by the fire,
but the full extent of damage has not been determined yet. The
immediate vicinity of the Blue Hole including the platform and
kiosks are not damaged. The kiosk at the Watson Nature Trail is also
not damaged, but it is likely that the trail signs and the platform
at the west end have been damaged or destroyed, and we will work
quickly to replace these assets.
I realize that those of you that are here in the Keys now are
anxious to see these sites for yourself. However, only red-carded
certified wildland firefighters will be allowed into these areas
during this mop up phase and until the Incident Commander declares
the burn out. There is still some smoldering and the potential for
falling snags and trip hazards in these areas; therefore for
everyone's safety, this entire area is closed to the public,
including refuge volunteers, until further notice. We will install
informational fliers as soon as these areas are open, as well as
posting updated information at the Refuge Visitor Center.
The weather forecast was favorable for this prescribed burn at
ignition yesterday morning, but an unforecasted drop in humidity,
along with increased wind and temperature, were factors in this fire
moving outside of the planned control lines midday. As with any
prescribed fire, contingency plans were in place and additional fire
control resources were immediately activated, including Monroe
County Fire & Rescue, the Florida Division of Forestry, and a
National Park Service helicopter which helped with water drops. A
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helicopter has been requested today
to allow the NPS helicopter to return to its regular mission. The
helicopters provide support for conducting aerial reconnaissance and
monitoring as well as the ability to drop water on fire spots that
could potentially flare-up. Fire personnel will continue to mop up
the fire today and through the weekend, and will monitor the burn
area until the fire is extinguished.
Approximately 45 residents of the Pine Heights subdivision were
asked to evacuate at 3:00 pm on the day of the fire as a
precautionary measure. Residents were allowed to return by 7:00 pm
with no damage to private property. Although smoke did not impact
Key Deer Boulevard, traffic was delayed for several hours as the
Monroe County Sheriff's Office limited drive-throughs to only
residents of Port Pine Heights and Koehn Subdivisions.
We will be hosting a community public meeting within the next week
or so to provide more information and answer questions. For our
snowbirds, we will be happy to follow-up with a meeting this winter
to give everyone an orientation to the site and provide as much
information as you need so you feel comfortable answering the
public's questions.
Thank you for your patience and support. Please don't hesitate to
call or email me!
Best regards,
Anne Morkill |
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Manillo Trail Entrance
Watson Trail Entrance |
