Firewise by Ed Brown

TGO FIREWISE INFORMATION

RESIDENTS REDUCING WILDFIRE RISKS Visit tgocsa.org to view Firewise video and brochure or TGO Firewise on Facebook

Remember, you must have written permission to remove any living shrubs or trees beyond your property line. Contact CSA if you have questions about removal and consult the Architectural Review Board before making landscape changes.

What is a Fire Break?

by Ed Brown

What is a FIRE BREAK? It could be the very thing that saves your property and your life when a Wildfire is relentlessly advancing on TGO. It can be man-made or natural. The St. John’s River, running from south to north, qualifies as a natural firebreak for a wildfire rushing through the grasslands and forest west of the river and west of TGO. In a similar way, the Addison Canal, running west to east, through part of TGO, could qualify as a man-made firebreak. It was dug 100 years ago in an ill-fated attempt to drain the “swamp.” Both these firebreaks could conceivably work together to protect the north and west sides of our community. A FIRE BREAK can be a paved road or a dirt trail. It can be an area prepared in advance by prescribed burning or cutting of vegetation, plowing, and trimming, as demonstrated by our intrepid Trail Maintenance Volunteers. CSA has a role in this with cut debris removal. Florida Forestry Service and St. John’s Water Management District can be helpful in identifying target areas for Breaks, as well as targeting Grant Money and heavy equipment for cutting and removal. Any interruption in natural vegetation across the line of travel of a wildfire can result in the removal of fuel and the dying out of the wildfire. Once again the FIRE TRIANGLE can explain fuel removal as a viable strategy for control of a wildland fire.

Firewise Committee - Contact Information

Tim Graham Chairman 561-262-8833 Donald Payne 407-222-0583 Ed Brown 321-383-8253 Mike Lavery 585-472-1538 Ron Peoples 407-509-0486 Betty Salter 321-223-8073 Ed Olefi rowicz 919-360-3174 Karri Olefi rowicz 919-265-4315 Christopher Miller 407-375-8310 O.M. Butch Jones 804-514-4458 Albert McGuire 810 338 5646 Sharon Maloney 770-294-6362