Congaree National Park is on fire this week. That’s OK
Congaree National Park is on fire this week, and park rangers want you to know that’s fine actually.
The park announced that for the next two weeks, crews will be conducting controlled burns inside the park. The burn will cover approximately 450 acres in the Red Bluff and Dawson units near the South Cedar Creek canoe landing.
Staff from Kings Mountain National Military Park, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park and the S.C. Forestry Commission will join Congaree rangers in conducting the burns over the first two weeks of November.
Most of the park remains open, and visitors should not be affected by the burns, the park said. But access to Cedar Creek from South Cedar Creek Road will be closed during the burning, and smoke will likely be visible for several miles, drifting over nearby roads, trails and campgrounds.
The fires are being set to reduce the fuel for uncontrolled fires and replenish the wildlife habitats in the area. The fire can drive out invasive species, while local vegetation like the longleaf pine are actually very resistant to fires, the park said in an Instagram post.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 10:49 AM.
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