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Division Of Forestry Presents Annual Report
August 22, 2008
Wildfires consumed 116 acres of land in Escambia County during the 2007-2008 fiscal year, according to the annual report of the Florida Division of Forestry to the Escambia County Commission.
The report was presented to the commission Thursday evening by Elton Gilmore, forest area supervisor, and Adam Parden, county forester.
The Division of Forestry responded to 38 different fires during the fiscal year, a decrease from the previous year due to a wetter spring. Five of the fires during the last fiscal year were started by lightning, consuming 15.6 acres. Eleven fires were caused by non-permitted burn piles and burning yard trash, consuming about 22 acres.
During the year, the Division of Forestry issued 1,470 burn permits covering 5,966 acres and 967 piles.
To help minimize the wildfire risk in the county, the Division of Forestry maintains an agressive fire prevention campaign, with both an ongoing educational program and an active landowner assistance policy. Forestry also works with the local volunteer fire departments with both training and funding, according to the report.
The county will pay the Division of Forestry seven cents pe acre for Forestry’s services in Escambia County. With 326,422 acres in Escambia County, that bill in September will amount to $22,849.54. The state’s fee increased this year from three cents per acre to the seven cents, the first increase since 1945. Over one half of the land in Escambia County is forest land.
Escambia County’s half million acres of forest land contributes an estimated $351 million to the local economy and provides 1,306 jobs, according to the reported presented Thursday night. Forestry’s indirect impact on Escambia’s economy is an additional $313 million and 5,917 jobs.
The Florida Division of Forestry in Escambia County is headquartered at 4100 North Highway 29 in Molino (under the fire tower).
Pictured above: Adam Parden (left), county forester, and Elton Gilmore, forest area supervisor, at the Thursday evening meeting of the Escambia County Commission.
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