17 Burn Bans, Drought Derive From Dry Conditions In FL

FLORIDA — More than 11 million Floridians currently live in areas of drought as the number of counties under burn bans continues to rise.

Dry conditions are prevalent in areas where 11.8 million people reside throughout Florida, up 3.7 percent from last week, according to the NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System.

Furthermore, Manatee County is the latest Florida county to enact a burn ban due to the dry climate.

"We are deeply concerned about the ongoing hot and dry conditions that have significantly increased the risk of wildfires in our community,” Manatee County Commission Chair George Kruse said in a news release published Tuesday. “We urge all citizens to remain vigilant, adhere to the restrictions and exercise caution during this period.

As of Tuesday, wildfires burned in the following areas: Okeechobee, the Everglades, Caloosahatchee, the Myakka River, Withlacoochee, Lakeland, Bunnell and Suwannee. In the Panhandle, there were five active wildfires in Chipola.

Several other fires throughout Florida were considered fully contained.

To combat the fires, burn bans have been issued in 14 counties as of Friday, according to the Florida Forest Service. They are Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lake, Lee, Orange, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole and Volusia.

Since Friday, the following counties have undergone burn bans: Manatee, Citrus, Hernando and Pasco, according to Manatee government officials.

Burning yard debris is permanently prohibited in Hillsborough, Duval and Pinellas counties, according to the Florida Forest Service.

The burn ban prohibits:

• Campfires
• Bonfires
• Unpermitted controlled burns
• Burning yard and household trash
• Burning construction debris
• Burning organic debris
• Igniting fireworks
• Noncommercial burning of materials other than for religious or ceremonial purposes, in which case they must be contained in a barbecue grill or barbecue pit, and the total fuel area cannot exceed 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height.

Dry conditions may persist the National Weather Service does not forecast but rather near-record heat levels.

The weather service's Jacksonville office encourages residents to know their local burn regulations and to not burn during low humidity levels.

NWS Miami noted South Florida has been experiencing a drought for several months, while NWS Tallahassee said Florida's capitol "is in the midst of its driest stretch of the yr (year) - 12 straight days w/o measurable rain since 4/8. With no rainfall forecast through this week, drought and/or fire may become concerns for the Tri-State area."

On Monday, the Tallahassee office reported a new wildfire in Bay County, where rain has not poured in almost two weeks. No rain was expected in the area in the next week, weather officials reported.

According to a NOAA graphic, 17.2 percent of South Florida was experiencing a severe drought. In the central region, near Tampa, conditions were abnormally dry in 17.8 percent of the area.

There was no rain in sight for NOAA's seven-day precipitation predictions in Florida, dwindling the Sunshine State's chances to get a reprieve from the continuing drought.

NOAA reported this year has seen the 58th driest March and the 42nd driest January-March since 1895.