Officials with the Florida Forest Service’s Caloosahatchee Forestry Center are asking residents of Collier, Hendry and Lee counties to refrain from burning storm debris as many residents are without power and any possible smoke could negatively impact those around them.
“Now is not the time to burn storm debris,” said Sean Allen, Caloosahatchee Center Manager. “A lot of people have their windows open and no power, no air conditioning. Burning these down trees and limbs will generate a lot of smoke and create problems as it blows through neighborhoods.”
Storm debris is collected separately from household garbage. Storm debris assessment is already underway throughout the county and collections will begin in the next few days, giving residents time to get storm debris to the curb.
Residents are asked to set storm debris at the curb away from normal household trash and recycling. Yard waste does not need to be bundled after the storm. Place it in piles that can easily be managed by collection personnel with a claw truck. To expedite collection, do not place anything beneath low-hanging obstacles like trees or power lines or near things like fire hydrants or mailboxes. For more specific instructions, please visit your local county web sites.
For more information on outdoor burning once conditions improve, please visit FDACS.gov/BurnAuthorization.
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. The Florida Forest Service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects wildfire on more than 26 million acres. Learn more at FDACS.gov/FLForestService.