Prescribed fire signs have been used by land managers and landowners across the South to convey messages about the intentional use of fire. Prescribed fire, also known as controlled burning, can provide a wide variety of benefits, and prescribed burners are often eager promote awareness and understanding of the practice.

Around the year 2000, public agency partners in Florida developed a large prescribed fire sign template that was distributed to fire-managed public lands across the state. The sign project was an outcome of the exceptionally active 1998 Florida wildfire season. Post-fire analysis in Florida revealed that areas that hadn’t been managed with prescribed fire, experienced some of the worst wildfire impacts. Public agency leaders in partnership with the University of Florida cooperative extension produced, developed, and distributed approximately 150 of the signs across the state. 

Many of the original signs from 2000 have been lost over time. Recent requests from public land managers for replacement signs have demonstrated demand for similar signage. In late spring 2021, an ad-hoc committee formed to explore opportunities, messages, and designs for a replacement sign. The intent of the 2021 committee was to develop replacement sign(s) that would be available as a graphic template that can be used as-as or further customized by agencies and organizations. The new sign graphics and templates (available below) were released in summer 2023.