Florida wildfire dangers persist — Here's how to reduce your risk

DADE CITY, Fla. - Grass everywhere is crispy and dry, and a burn manager in Pasco County said it’s a critical time in wildfire season.

What we know:

Joseph Gocsik, a certified burn manager with Forest Environmental Solutions in Dade City, showed FOX 13 how little it takes for a fire, right now, to start and spread in a careful demonstration on his company’s lot.

READ: Bay Area firefighters continue to respond to brush fire calls as parts of region remain under burn ban

"That circle is 20 seconds of burning. If somebody didn’t see it and that was allowed to just go, with the amount of wind we had, that would probably have been an acre in just 10 minutes," said Gocsik.

The Florida Forest Service said the state has seen at least 630 wildfires so far this year as of February 8, burning more than 15,000 acres.

Dig deeper:

Gocsik said the state is at a critical time right now, so he recommended homeowners keep their homes clear of bushy shrubs or trees by 50 feet.

MORE: Wildfire smoke pollution linked to more than 24K deaths a year, study finds

"Back in 1998, when we had the wildfires of ‘98 up in north Florida, they had homes where they had palmetto and shrubs and trees right up next to these homes," said Gocsik. "And when that fire hit, it just burned down entire neighborhoods at a time."

He saw the worst of what wildfires can do firsthand.

"I was assisting with them, and I saw cars melted to pavement that people were driving down the road and had to abandon their vehicle and run," said Gocsik.

What you can do:

Even if residents don’t own land, what you do still matters.

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"A cigarette butt, somebody taking a trailer down the road that the bearings are sparking, if you leave a grill unattended, any little thing can set grass on fire, can set any vegetation on fire," said Gocsik.

That includes idling or parked cars.

"Same thing [goes] with any gas-powered equipment; mowers, trimmers, edgers, especially because edgers spark, that can spark your gas and start a fire," he said.

As Florida enters spring, Gocsik said trees and plants take more moisture out of the soil, making things drier. Plus, the prolonged winter frost killed the grass, not helping out at all.

"That combination, the lack of water, and then we’re going to be coming into March and April where we get a lot of wind, that is just bad news for any landowners," said Gocsik.

Burn bans are still in effect for counties around the Tampa Bay region. Firefighters and the forest service are working together to contain wildfires that are active.