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Florida fire conditions ripe ahead of peak season
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson gives an update on wildfire conditions in Florida.
DOVER, Fla. - Florida is a proverbial tinderbox heading into peak wildfire season.
On Tuesday, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and Florida Forest Service leadership held a press conference giving an update on wildfire conditions in Florida.
By the numbers:
Officials said that so far this year, there have been more than 1,500 wildfires throughout the state, including the Hernando Beach fire that burned approximately 150 acres last month and forced evacuations, as well as one that is currently burning about 2,500 acres on the Florida-Georgia border.
FFS noted that there are also two fires currently burning in Hillsborough County.
So far there haven’t been any reported fatalities from the fires.
Why are wildfires burning in Florida?
According to Simpson, Florida is ripe for wildfires, not only because of the drought, but also due to the freezes earlier this year.
"Anytime you combine drought with the freeze that we had, certainly killed most vegetation that we had in the state,": Simpson explained. "It does make it worse, potentially a lot worse, when there is a drought. If we had normal rainfall this year. Certainly, that would have abated some of the problems with the freeze, but when you have that vegetation, it’s very easy to burn and dry."
How to prevent wildfires
What you can do:
During the press conference, Simpson stressed the importance of saying something if you see something because arson is a big cause of fires.
"Another big factor is the fire in the backyard," Simpson stated. "Burning brush fires, having a barbecue, not putting those fires all the way out is leading to major fires all over the state."
Simpson encouraged everyone who owns a home or business to have a defensible space around it.
"Defensible meaning clean the roofs off, clean the gutters out, make sure you’ve got brush and debris pulled back away from your homes and businesses. That way if a fire does break out in your area, you’ll have something we can defend."
Simpson also said not to throw cigarettes on the ground.
"These fires with the winds and the drought that we’ve had and freezes are a perfect recipe for a major system," the agriculture commissioner shared.
Dig deeper:
To prevent fires from getting out of hand, the Florida Forestry Service has lit prescribed fires. Simpson said there are between two and two and a half million acres of prescribed burns in the state each year.
"We do that to eliminate the fuel in our forest systems and to restore those forests," Simpson explained. "So, prescribed fire at two-and-a-half million acres. The entire country does about 10 million acres. We’re about 25% of all the prescribed fires."
He added that the state invested in a drone program about three years ago.
"They help not only monitor those fires but also help put those fires out and help start fires on the prescribed burns," he stated.
Simpson went on to say that the state also bought nearly 100 bulldozers and brought the helicopter fleet up to ten to fight fires.
He warned that he expects things to get worse before they get better.
When is peak wildfire season in Florida?
What's next:
April through June is peak fire season in Florida.
The rain on Tuesday is beneficial but is just a short reprieve.
Simpson said between 12–20 inches of rain across Florida is needed to take the state out of the drought conditions.
The Source: This article was written with information from a press conference on Tuesday with Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and Florida Forest Service leadership.