Several parks across the Miami Valley have had controlled burns or are scheduled for a burn soon.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

As previously reported on News Center 7 at 5 by Mason Fletcher, controlled burns are helpful for the park wildlife and visitors.

TRENDING STORIES:

“That’s pretty crazy,” Brad Coverstone said after seeing the fire.

Coverstone said he might think something was wrong if he saw a burn while visiting a trail.

“I’d have to call somebody, I wouldn’t know what to do,” Coverstone said.

The Miami County Park District Executive Director Scott Myers said they get calls about this all the time, but they do it every year and have it under control.

“The controlled burns are for the sort of improvement and the health of our prairies,” Myers said.

Controlled burns can prevent natural wildfires from spreading, and it can get rid of unwanted invasive species. The worst non-native species right now is honeysuckle, Myers says.

“It’ll become an overgrown brush area that then in the winter or coming out of spring when it’s all dry, that can be a pretty big igniter,” Myers said.

For controlled burns, crews wear protective gear and use a specialized blow torch to start the fire. Water trucks are put on standby to put it out.

On top of helping the wildlife, the controlled burns also pay off for visitors, Myers says.

“What you’re going to see is then more of the better wildlife,” Myers said. “You’re going to see better butterflies. You’re going to see better rabbits.”

Depending on conditions, different parks around the county will have controlled burns in the next few weeks.

[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

©2025 Cox Media Group