CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla., (Oct. 22, 2018)
What’s open and what’s closed?
The general forest area in the Wakulla Ranger District of the Apalachicola National Forest, the area of the Forest east of the Ochlockonee River, is open although developed recreation sites and trails in that area are closed. Mack Landing and Pine Creek hunt camps, undeveloped sites on the Wakulla Ranger District, are open. The Apalachicola Ranger District west of the river remains closed. All roads with fallen trees across them are closed.
Recovery Team Progress
Roads: Workers made good progress clearing some main roads yesterday with an excavator and masticator. Approximately 38 miles of road have been cleared by the heavy equipment. More heavy equipment and saw teams who will work in tandem with that equipment will be clearing roads today and more road-clearing equipment has been ordered.
Teams for recreation, wildlife, timber and wildlfire risk continued assessing damage. Personnel from the Osceola and Ocala National Forests arrived today to help with assessments. Employees from the Apalachicola Ranger District, which was heavily damaged by the storm, return to work today and some of them will help with assessments tomorrow.
Recreation: Pine Creek and Mack Landing hunt camps are open and work continues today to open other hunt camps. A helicopter flight is scheduled today to evaluate recreation sites and trails. Some campgrounds will require arborists and bucket trucks to remove dangling limbs. Availability of this equipment is limited in the immediate area, so some sites will take some time to reopen.
Wildlife: Teams will continue surveying clusters of red-cockaded woodpecker trees to develop a mediation funding proposal. They have assessed almost 100 woodpecker tree clusters to date. More teams will help with these surveys today.
Timber: District employees continue planning for salvage operations and reengage existing timber sales.
Wildfire risk: Fire behavior analysts continue to work with the Forest to identify the increased difficulty to suppress wildfire due to downed trees and additional fuels to predict fire behavior and the need to update fire suppression and prescribed fire plans.
How to stay safe in the Forest:
Roads: Many roads in the area remain blocked by fallen trees and anyone in the Forest should use extreme caution as leaning and broken trees and limbs are significant safety hazards. Under no circumstance should members of the public try to clear fallen or leaning trees from Forest Service lands. Doing so requires specialized training and supervision and poses a significant safety risk to those carrying out such actions. It could also slow operations of assessment and road-clearing teams. Visitors should also watch for heavy equipment such as excavators and masticators on roads and maintain a safe distance from them when they are in use.
Hunting: Archery season for deer and turkey is open, so visitors should be aware that hunters may be in the woods. Hunters should watch for loose and leaning trees and limbs.
Wildfire Prevention: Visitors should take precautions to prevent fires as conditions are dry and vegetation is receptive to wildfire spread.
For more information, call the Southern Area Red Incident Management Team at 850-739-2292 or email FNFHurricaneMichael@gmail.com. Updates on the Apalachicola, Ocala and Osceola National Forests are on Facebook at NationalForestsinFlorida and on Twitter @NFinFlorida.
The Osceola and Ocala National Forests remain open. They, and other national forests in the Southern Region unaffected by Hurricanes Michael and Florence, will continue to waive fees at campgrounds and concessionaire-managed sites for evacuees and displaced individuals from both storms.
Photo: U.S. Forest Service cooperator Joel Casto surveys damage to a red-cockaded woodpecker colony. Credit: Josh Havird/USFS
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