PHOTO BY LEANN SIEFFERMAN BUSDEKER
If you’re seeing smoke or haze across parts of Seminole County today, it’s not something to be worried about. A prescribed burn is currently underway at Rock Springs Run State Reserve in Orange County, covering approximately 300 acres.
Seminole County posted about it on social media this morning to get ahead of the calls, even though the burn isn’t in their jurisdiction, but obviously smoke doesn’t follow county lines, because borders are made up. Seminole County is advising its residents not to call 911 to report smoke or haze in the area. We’re assuming Orange County would do the same if they had posted anything.
Prescribed burns are a routine and intentional land management tool used by Florida state parks to reduce fuel loads, control invasive vegetation, and maintain the natural longevity of fire-dependent ecosystems like the flatwoods and scrub habitats found at Rock Springs Run. The 14,000-acre reserve in west Orange County is one of the largest undeveloped tracts in the region and sits along the Wekiva River corridor, a state-designated protection zone.
If you’re near the area today, expect reduced visibility in spots.
