Juniper Wilderness Fire

[genxrex]

Does anyone know if this was a Hiker related fire? Or the specific area involved? Thar area is by far the nicest I've been on in Florida. 10,000 acre is a huge chunk of forest and considering Pat's Island was pretty much destroyed a few years back, this is going to be one barren scorched section.

From the FTA Site:
Firefighters Make Progress on Juniper Fire
The Juniper Fire on the Ocala National Forest is approximately 10,022 acres and 85 percent contained. Yesterday firefighters conducted a burn out along Forest Road 46 (old 10) and around Sweetwater Cabin. Helicopters dropped water on two spot fires east of Juniper Run.
Today a crew will canoe down Juniper Springs Run to contain spots east of Juniper Run. Burnout operations will continue in the interior along Forest Road 33 (old 65) and Forest Road 46 (old 10).


The Juniper Fire started from an escaped campfire. Campfire restrictions are currently in effect for the Ocala National Forest.
Juniper Wayside Canoe Take In/Take Out is closed. Forest Road 33 (old 65) and Forest Road 46 (old 10) are closed. The Juniper Springs Campground, Juniper Creek Canoe Run, the Florida Trail within the Juniper Wilderness and the Yearling Trail remain closed.
Morning road closures may continue along State Road 19 and State Road 40 for the next few days as smoke lingers.
Motorists are cautioned to drive slowly with lights on while traveling in smoky areas. Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Highway Patrol and Marion County Sheriff’s Office will be assisting with road closures.

[chiefduffy]

Got this in my email 2 or 3 days ago:

For those of you who might not be aware, there's been a big fire burning since last Wednesday in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area of the Ocala National Forest. The fire was started from an FT backpackers' campfire that either got away from them or was not properly extinguished. The 3 backpackers were ticketed but since it was not intentional and there was no fire ban in effect at the time they are not being held liable for the cost of fighting the fire. A fire ban now exists for all of the Ocala National Forest as well as for many counties in north and central Florida.

Forest Road 33 (old 65) and FR 46 (old 10) have been closed since last Wednesday and are still closed. There have been periodic closures of SR 19 and SR 40 due to fire supression efforts and heavy smoke.

Several hikers were airlifted out of the Juniper Wilderness and the Juniper Springs campground was evacuated. Firefighters were able to keep the fire out of the campground and recreation area but virtually all of the Florida Trail from Juniper Springs to FR 46 (old 10) is involved.

The Florida Trail within the Juniper Prairie Wilderness (SR 40 to FR 46), Juniper Springs Rec Area, the Juniper Run, the Juniper Wayside, and the Yearling Trail are all closed until further notice. Those hikers wishing to visit the Ocala are being directed by the FTA office to areas well north and south of the Wilderness Area.

As of this morning the fire had burned a little over 10,000 acres and was 85% contained.

We've been posting daily updates on the FTA website under Hiking - Trail Conditions. We will continue to post updates until the fire is out and the trail reopens.


Deb Blick
Trail Resource Coordinator
Florida Trail Association

[JaxHiker]

Thanks for the heads up. Wonder if this went to all FTA members. If so I sure didn't get it.

[genxrex]

I wonder if this was at the Hidden Pond site? I glad the people were able to get out safely, as I personally know how poor cell service is out there.

Maybe they had to send smoke signals?

[BumpJumper]

This fire just makes me sick. That area was already damaged. I bet those hikers feel like shiot. I know I would.

[omegaman13]

I don't think I can ever start a backcountry fire in Florida ever again. Last time I hiked from Delancy to Juniper I had to hike through a still burning area right before Hopkin's Prairie.

[BumpJumper]

Dang.

[chiefduffy]

From the FT-L

As of Friday afternoon the fires were still burning in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. It was hoped that the rain this weekend would put an end to it. Ocala Fire Management is supposed to call me on Tuesday or Wednesday (03/31-04/01) with an update and let me know whether I can hike thru and assess the damage ahead of opening the Wilderness to the public. >From initial reports some areas of the Wilderness will have no trees left standing but until I get a complete report and walk the trail, I can't give you any idea of the impact on the Trail or when it will be reopened.

So stay tuned. I'll post just as soon as I know anything significant.

Deb Blick
Trail Resource Coordinator
Florida Trail Association
[email protected]

[JaxHiker]

Bummer. I had high hopes for this weekend's rain also.

[Pages]

i can't remember how many times i've hiked from juniper springs to hidden pond. and have camped with family at the park countless times.

the last time i went there - maybe a year or two ago - they had wrapped bright orange fencing around the springs because the walls were falling in.

was one of the best/wildest places to hike in the area...what a shame.

TV

[BumpJumper]

Thanks Deb. For everything you do.

[chiefduffy]

From the FT-L:

Bill Taylor and I walked all of the FT in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness today. It looks very similar to the scene after the last fire - Labor Day 2006. A crew will be out next Tuesday to paint new blazes and remove a couple of limbs on the trail but we had no difficulty following the trail tread or getting around the limbs and a remarkable number of blazes are still visible along the trail.

We only saw a couple of overhead snags that will probably come down in the first big wind. Palmettos and grasses are already poking up - it's amazing how quickly the forest re-greens. The fire jumped most of the trail, really very few places that it burned thru, so the tread is the white sand trail through the black charred forest - easy to see even without blazing. Hidden Pond was spared most damage as did many of the prairie ponds. Lots of water in the wet prairies right now altho Hidden Pond is low. My guess is the helitack crews used Hidden Pond to pick up water with their Bambi buckets.

Infrastructure saw some damage. One sign at the bottom near Juniper Springs Rec Area was destroyed and another damaged. And the one bridge in the wilderness area (which predates wilderness designation) was burned down to the cement foundation piers. Since the piers remain it will be easy to replace, if we are allowed to do so. The northern signs near old FR 10 were unscathed and the fire only crossed old FR 10 in a couple of small spots. We didn't have time to check out the Yearling Trail, the sinkhole or the cemetary. I'll ask the blazing crew to take a quick look at those areas and report back what I hear.

Saw a lot of wildlife out there too, since the views are broader than I've seen in there in a long time. Saw several deer, fresh bear scat, a spotted skunk (black with a white spot on its head), a gopher tortoise, lizards, skinks, loads of ants, and water birds in the wet prairies. Oh yes, and I picked off 3 ticks on my way home.

So, all in all, it was an interesting hike. Hikers can follow the trail easily enough for now and within a week or so the trail will be nicely reblazed. We'll have to blaze some fire-damaged trees and I expect some of them will fall over within the next couple of years and other limbs and trees will undoubtedly fall as well - especially if we get any big blows this summer. But the trail fared far better than reports I was getting from the FS suggested.

Deb Blick
Trail Resource Coordinator
Florida Trail Association
[email protected]

[omegaman13]

Sooooo, is the general public allowed back there? I'd like to go in and take some pics of it.

[JaxHiker]

Juniper Prairie Wilderness just West of the Pat's Island FT crossing at FR 10. 4/2/09

[chiefduffy]

It's all open to the public again.

[BumpJumper]

I camped there this weekend and the run is open as well. There was about a mile along it that was charred....not as burned as the above pic though.
This was the first kayak trip that I saw so much wildlife though. I wonder if they are really disturbed by all this.

Also, Friday, there was a police chase along Hwy 40 where the guy was doing about 120 mph and crashed into the forest. The car burst into flames. I just wonder if anyone knew if this started some of the fire back up. It was just down from Juniper.

[Amigi'sLastStand]

And the beauty of a fire ecology, is that in six months it will be all green again...

[Gray Blazer]

And the beauty of a fire ecology, is that in six months it will be all green again...

Amigi, you're back! When's the next FL get together?

[genxrex]

Just got home from hidden pond. I am very happy to report that the area directly around hidden pond was untouched by the fire. The camp that the fire originated the blaze was likely right around whiskey creek. The trail is vague in some areas and could def use use some news blazes.

What a wonderful weekend to be out in the woods!

There was five groups of people sharing the area, but there was plenty of room for all!!

[nitewalker]

Just got home from hidden pond. I am very happy to report that the area directly around hidden pond was untouched by the fire. The camp that the fire originated the blaze was likely right around whiskey creek. The trail is vague in some areas and could def use use some news blazes.

What a wonderful weekend to be out in the woods!

There was five groups of people sharing the area, but there was plenty of room for all!!

how big of an area got burned? can you give an aproximate distance of trail. like was it a one mile section then you pass it by or was it longer than that. i went thru in feb of 07 and there was a burned out section between alexander and juniper springs if im not mistaken. that was about a half mile section...peace