We encountered a dramatic sugarcane fire while driving from Naples on the west coast of Florida and heading to West Palm Beach on the eastern side of the Sunshine State.

However any sunshine was blanketed by a large column of smoke rising from the cane fire on the side of Florida State Highway 80 and just outside the Belle Glade township.

The burning of the sugarcane is carried out before harvesting.  In the burning process, the field is set fire to and the leaves are burned off of the stalks.

About 80% of the “trash,” including straw, the tops, and green and dry leaves, are burned off. These components constitute about 25% of the entire sugarcane stalk.

The burning kills microorganisms and burns the trash, both of which keep the soil rich when left in the fields. In place of burning the cane, the leaves could be removed and burned to create steam for electricity generation or be converted into fuel themselves.

The ‘firing’ of the cane also drives snakes and any other unpleasant creatures out of the cane field before harvesting.