Conditions are right so a prescribed burn - one of many - is taking place today in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains national park. Between today and May 1st a total of 7 parcels of land in Cades Cove will be burned totally 300 acres.
The national park service uses controlled fires and a rotated mowing schedule to keep the fields and meadows in Cades Cove clear of new growths of trees so that its appearance is more like that what the White settlers of the 1800's tuned the Cove into.
Prescribed fires are also used in the Great Smoky Mountains national park to protect the abundant biodiversity by simulating the effect natural wildfires have to allow greater competition between plants.
Prescribed burns in the Great Smoky Mountains national park also used to reduce dead brush and other natural fuels which can allow what should be a controllable wildfire to get out of hand.
The prescribed burn today should not significantly hamper your experience if you are visiting Cades Cove today or on any other day that the burns in the Cove are being executed.
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