One of these signs could pop up on your property. That is why you should know about the Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Project.
The Florida Forest Service says it’s the clearing of property that helps firefighters during fire season.
Four in Your Corner spoke with Melinda Acni, Mitigation Specialist, with the Service. She says cleaning up lots in rural areas of Southwest Florida that are full of vegetation helps to provide an easy access point for brush trucks to get to the interior of a fire - which, according to the Acni, is where many wildfires start.
It also helps to minimize the risk of damage to your property. Acni uses the Lehigh Acres brush fires of 2006 to stress the project’s importance. “We lost several properties because of the difficulty in accessing undeveloped areas”, she said.