Sugarcane burns: Parts of South Florida hazy & at risk

Prescribed sugarcane burns are producing strong smoky smells and lots of haze across South Florida for the last few days.The west winds persist on Wednesday and start to shift from the north on Thursday.

West Broward County in South Florida has been under a haze for the last two days. Smoke was the common strong smell over cities such as Sunrise, Weston, Plantation, Coral Springs, and Parkland. Sugarcane-prescribed burns are the ones to blame for the itch in some people’s eyes.

Sugarcane fires are happening over areas around the south and southeastern periphery of Lake Okeechobee. At first glance, the acreage of each fire is not impressive, as compared to other big fires, but since there are more than a dozen of them, big smoke quickly builds. Acreage varies between 30 to 76 acres for each fire.

Sugarcane fires are usually done between the months of October to May. This season’s weather has affected crops and weather events could extend the burn season. Sugarcane burns because the dried leaves accumulate around the bases of the cane and if they are not cleared properly fires can ignite easily and become uncontrollable if weather conditions are just right. Also, leftover dried leaves, if left behind, could slow down the next season’s growth and put a damp on the local economy, workers' livelihood, and sugar production itself.

These burns do produce very large smoke plumes and have been the cause of many debates. Residents around the area of usual burns often complain of the health risk these burns cause. It has been found that sugarcane burning can produce large quantities of cancer-causing pollutants, this is beside the common risks of breathing problems, like asthma attacks, sinuses, etc. These burns should be monitored closely by authorities and are often done when the winds are favorable to not affect large residential areas. Florida sticks out like a sore thumb, and winds are often variable, especially during the spring when we still have cold fronts pushing through, putting a large population at risk. The last few days we've had constant west winds, which swang the smoke toward highly populated suburbs of west Broward County.

Looking at the latest model from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)’ Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling (ACOM) shows that Carbon Dioxide levels coming from these fires are at about 30 ppb. Although this is not in an unsafe range, if one of exposed to this level for longer than 6-7 hours, then one could start feeling symptoms and health could be impacted. If you already suffer from respiratory issues, you could start feeling symptoms sooner.