“Firewise” meeting at Devil’s Fork State Park

The tragedies late last year at Pinnacle Mountain and Gatlinburg remain fresh on the mind.  And that has prompted the group Friends of Jocassee to host a meeting to help the community learn more about protecting their homes and property from wildfire.  Another feature of the meeting will be information on how controlled burns can help.  Everyone is invited at 2 o’clock Tuesday afternoon, February 7 to the Holcombe Room at Devil’s Fork State Park.  There, firefighter professionals from the South Carolina Forestry Commission will lead the program and discuss topics ranging from how to prepare structures and landscapes to resist wildfire, to best ways to evacuate when threatened by wildfire, and how controlled burns conducted by public land management agencies decrease the risk of wildfire. The session is part of a long-range plan of the Fire Learning Network, collaboration between several land-management organizations including the South Carolina Forestry Commission, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service. The Network is planning controlled burns this winter and spring, including a 40-acre unit at Devils Fork State Park. Devils Fork State Park is located at 161 Holcombe Circle in Salem. For more information about the Firewise meeting, contact the park at 864-944-2639 or [email protected].