Biological assessment of wildlife planned after Egmont Key fire
More than a week after a lightning strike started a second fire on Egmont Key during a prescribed burn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials say there are still a few hotspots and smolder.
The state park reopened July 29, just three days after the fire started.
Nearly 80 acres were destroyed on the 328-acre key, which has a designated national wildlife refuge for shore birds and other wildlife on its southernmost point.
“Most of the population has survived,” commission spokesman Stan Garner said. “We haven’t done a biological assessment.”
The box turtle population was damaged, he said, and there are plans to conduct an assessment next week.
Egmont Key is accessible by boat or ferry. No one lives on the island.
Hannah Morse: 941-745-7055, @mannahhorse
This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Biological assessment of wildlife planned after Egmont Key fire."