Behind the Flames looks beyond the yellow and green protective clothing on the fireline to the Big Cypress firefighters working to keep the Big Cypress ecosystems vibrant. We feature the powerful insights of two experienced firefighters. What draws these people toward flame? This is their story.
Burn Boss: A History of Fire and People in Big Cypress The job of the Burn Boss is difficult. Perhaps the toughest in all of professional conservation. To be the Boss of Fire, you must be willing to take responsibility for one of nature’s most powerful forces: Fire. With beautiful cinematography, fascinating interviews, and tantalizing story, this film highlights the colorful people and places in the wild heart of south Florida.
Fire Swamp ‘Fire Swamp’ reveals the untold story of how fire burns in a swamp. Follow the flame through the undulating tapestry of Big Cypress National Preserve from the soggy cypress domes, flammable prairies and pinelands, up to the fire-sensitive hardwood hammocks. Down in the Big Cypress, the borders between fire, water, people, limestone, plants, and animals creates an exquisite mosaic of beauty.
Surviving Fire: In the Florida Scrub The craft of fire management requires years of dedication and study. Understanding fire is done best out in the field. One has to go outside and do the work. Into Nature Films worked for over a year to capture Dr. Eric Menges’ 30 years of dedication to understanding the powerful force that is fire. The result of this partnership between researcher, filmmaker, and fire will fascinate you. Watch ‘Surviving Fire: In the Florida Scrub’ and read our full blog post below.
Burning Florida Get a glimpse into a beautiful fire on the Florida Dry Prairie from up high to down low. ‘This short film is dedicated to the people who have the skilled courage to use fire. You know who you are, if no one else does. You extend the ancient practice of fire into this modern world where fire is otherwise tamed. Your work is art. Your painting with flame is an act of compassion for the land and its’ creatures.’ Rick Anderson
Mud Lake Mosaic Our film about humans, wildfire, water and wild things captures the interplay of interstate highways, Florida Panthers, Swamp Lilys and lightning caused fires. In ‘Mud Lake Mosaic’, Big Cypress National Preserve Fire Managers navigate the complexity of a necessary and primeval force.
River of Grass Prescribed Fire Everglades Fire Management uses helicopters and firefighters to ignite this carefully planned fire at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. See how fire is used to burn away decades of accumulated dead sawgrass during moist conditions to prevent future, and severe, dry season fires which may threaten the habitat of the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow.
The River of Fire The Everglades becomes the River of Fire when fire managers burn the sawgrass prairies. Read film review here.
At Home in the Florida Scrub An educational 20-minute film featuring the threatened, endemic Florida Scrub-Jay who is perfectly at home in the fire-dependent Florida Scrub on the Lake Wales Ridge of central Florida.
Everglades Boy Scout Fire National Park Service managers conduct a prescribed fire in cooperation with Boy Scouts of America. Camp Everglades is in the Pine Rocklands of Everglades National Park.
The Last Dance The film follows Jon Wallace during his last fire as Prescribed Fire Specialist at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. The Last Dance Fire began as a lightning strike on July 8th in the Refuge interior and burned a total of 12,900 acres.
Sand Pine Scrub Prescribed Fire This short video features a prescribed fire in Sand Pine Scrub at Archbold Biological Station in January 2015.
Deer Hammock Wildfire and Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow An assortment of video clips featuring a summer 2012 lightning-ignited wildfire and the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow in Everglades National Park.
Belize Fire Into Nature Films worked on the edit for this remarkable project featuring ‘the emerging world of wildland fire in Southern Belize’. Beautiful cinematography by Chad Anderson Conservation Photography.
Pine Rockland Composition This film explores the globally imperiled pine rockland natural community in Everglades National Park and South Florida. Learn about this fire-dependent, subtropical community from a host of human and nonhuman perspectives. This film aired on WPBT Miami PBS in 2012.