County Burn Ban Extended Another Seven Days

With Highlands County rated among the driest counties in the state, the county commissioners met Tuesday in emergency session and extended the countywide burn ban for another seven days.

Without a burn permit from the Florida Division of Forestry, outdoor burning remains prohibited, with the exception of charcoal and gas grill cooking, through March 31.

Barring a drastic change in the weather, the commissioners will probably have to extend the ban again next week for seven days, the longest it can be imposed under state law, said Bill Nichols, the county emergency operations manager.

Extended weather forecasts show "chamber of commerce of weather and no significant rainfall" for south central Florida, Nichols said.

The Division of Forestry is currently helping local fire departments fight 17 brush fires, but none are in Highlands County.

"We've been fortunate," Nichols said. "The last brush fire we had of any significance was the one near Lakeshore Mall." Firefighters fought that wildfire March 16 and 17.

The threat of wildfires remains high locally, as Highlands and neighboring DeSoto counties are ranked the driest in the state by the Division of Forestry.

DeSoto County is currently the driest, with an average rating of 737 out of a possible score of 800 on the Keetch Byram Drought Index. Highlands County, one of only six counties with a drought rating above 700, is a close second with a score of 726.

Any drought index score above 550 is cause for concern about wildfires, said Tim Eures, county emergency operations director.

When the commissioners initiated the first seven-day county burn ban on March 17, the Division of Forestry reported assisting fire departments in fighting 63 wildfires that burned about 3,500 acres in Highlands County since Jan. 1.

Tim Elder, area supervisor for the forestry department, said that was about double the number of wildfires in this county over the same period a year ago.

About one-third of those fires are suspected of having started by a backyard fire which spread to neighboring properties, Elder said.