SEWEE Fire Fest has been announced on the heels of an outbreak of wildfires across the state of South Carolina. The event is free and takes place at the Laurel Hill County Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 15 March.
Gov. Henry McMaster has designated March as Prescribed Fire Awareness Month, with SEWEE Fire Fest designed to explain why prescribed fires can help keep the kinds of wildfires that burned thousands of acres over the past week better contained.
Prescribed fires, also known as controlled burns, are intentionally lit for land management purposes by certain people like farmers, wildlife biologists and foresters.
Unlike wildfires, they’re planned and controlled under specific weather conditions that keep the flames manageable.
The goal is for the flames to target vegetation that’s close to the ground, like leaves and pine needles.
Officials with the state chapter of the Nature Conservancy say these fires are key for not only supporting forest growth but public safety in cases of wildfires, because already-burned land lowers the amount of fuel fires need. That, in turn, helps protect those areas during fire emergencies.
The SEWEE Fire Fest has been announced, an event which is designed to explain why prescribed fires can help keep the kinds of wildfires that burned thousands of acres over the past week better contained.
