Controlled burns cast haze over eastern, central Hernando County

BROOKSVILLE –
Two controlled burns in the Withlacoochee State Forest are causing a haze of smoke in eastern and central Hernando County.

The fires in the Croom and Sugar Mill tracts are burning a combined 250 acres of dry underbrush. The burns are part of an ongoing effort at wildfire prevention, said Don Ruths, mitigation specialist for the Withlacoochee Forestry Center.

The smoke is expected to disperse by late this evening.