DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The Tennessee Valley Authority has been working with the state to conduct a controlled burn near Douglas Dam, and they held that burn on Wednesday.

Jack Muncy with the TVA’s Land Management said this annual burn is meant to make room for the original plants for that area.

“We’ve allowed our forests, in many cases, to go unmanaged or lack of management, and that’s contributed to heavy fuel loading. So, in this case, we’re both reestablishing a plant community as well as properly managing the resource and being stewards,” Muncy said.

Muncy said one of the main goals of these controlled burns is to get rid of overgrown dead plants that have taken over the area.

“In this case, it’s extremely important because those invasive exotics are displaced. Not only native plants, but native animals, everything from insects and the whole ecological web of life as I would share it. So, this is extremely important when you use the term biodiversity and how you’re creating land health,” Muncy said.

People who enjoy that area said they recognize how important it is to make way for a healthier environment.

“It allows them to get rid of the dead stuff and grow more vegetation for wildlife and stuff,” Todd Ball said.

Muncy said after their controlled burn, Mother Nature takes over and replaces all of that burned substance with new greenery and a better environment.

“I’d say we come back out here two to three weeks from now and you won’t see any black. It’ll be a classic example of Mother Nature showing good health,” Muncy said.

Compared to wildfires, Muncy said these controlled burns are much safer and much better for the environment.

One couple said this process can bring new life into the area.

“I think its safer, and it works for the wildlife. We love the wildlife and we love to be out here doing photography, and I appreciate that they’re doing the control burn,” Rose Ball said.

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