During the past few months, Titusville residents may have seen smoke billowing in the air, but fire officials say much of the commotion has actually been from prescribed fires.

  • Smoke in Brevard County could be from a prescribed burn
  • Controlled burns remove 'dead fuel'
  • Planned fires reduce chance of large, naturally occurring flareups

They're trying to avoid brush fires similiar to those seen in Polk County recently.

Weather and wind conditions play a huge factor in planning a successful burn. Each burn is planned out weeks before it happens.

“The common misconception is that our intent is to kill the vegetation, which just isn’t true," said Ryan Sumlin with Brevard County Fire Rescue. "Our intent is to remove that dead fuel."

"Dead fuel" could be branches and dry brush ignited during a wildfire that could cause severe damage to the wild lands and neighboring communities.

“By removing some of these fuel loads under a controlled condition, we are mitigating the risk of a severe wildfire,” said Steve McGuffey with Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program.

Officials said that after the controlled fire burns down, what's left is charred and blackened earth.

The benefit? Sumlin said the likelihood of fire returning in that location is much lower for the following three to five years.

“Most people don’t realize that our vegetation types will actually come back around 70 percent within that first grow season after one of our prescribed fires,” Sumlin said.

With the spring wildfire season fast approaching, fire crews say they aren't the only ones who should be preparing. For homeowners, cleaning out leaves from gutters, removing dried debris and branches can make a big difference.