A controlled burn is something done by fire specialists on land that has become too overgrown thanks to fire suppression. It sounds weird, but in Florida our ecosystems are fire-based, meaning that fire is supposed to sweep through from time to time. Florida is the lightning capital of the country, and wildfires are common--but when the land became settled, people tried to stop the natural fires. So the undergrowth gets too heavy, and then when a fire happens it's disastrous.
So, the environmental agencies of the state and counties hire fire specialists to do controlled burns, which means that they are supposed to start the fire and keep the it under control. Unfortunately, the companies are not always reputable. They choose to burn during the wrong conditions. The fire gets away from them, and there is a big problem.
So, it's not just that some guy decided to burn in his backyard. But it may be that the company doing the burn might as well have been!
Jay
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