A brush fire frightened residents in the Wilshire Lakes neighborhood in Naples on Wednesday, and Sarasota County joined the growing list of Southwest Florida municipalities banning outdoor burning, as drought holds tight in the region and a major index measuring the wildfire threat spikes.
Swamps are burning, drought is worsening, and forecasters are predicting above-average temperatures for the next month as the threat of wildfire continues to menace the southern half of Florida.
More than 935 wildfires have scorched nearly 44,000 acres so far this year in the Sunshine State. On the state’s east coast, a 27,000-acre wildfire that is now out had closed U.S. 1 in Homestead and took days for firefighters to contain.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index measures the dryness of the soil, ranging from 0 (saturated) to 800 (desert-dry), and every area within Southwest Florida has increased in dryness over the past two weeks. The KBDI in the Everglades topped 700. Inland portions of Southwest Florida’s counties, such as Collier and Hendry, reached into the 650s, and Lee County surpassed 610.
In Naples, the North Collier Regional Park was closed for a time while the six-acre fire looked as menacing as one much larger, with smoke billowing high into the air behind homes in nearby Wilshire Lakes.
The escalating conditions prompted the subdivision’s property managers to direct owners to evacuate via a note, as first reported by the Naples Daily News.
“Dear Homeowners, we ask you to evacuate immediately. There is a brush fire in the rear of our neighborhood,” the Daily News quoted the note as saying. “Please evacuate immediately to ensure your well-being and that of your loved ones.”
North Collier Fire Rescue was among the agencies that responded, and by 6 p.m., the fire was 95% contained.
In addition to Sarasota County, outdoor burning is now banned in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Highlands counties. If the KBDI rises to more than 500, the county enacts its burn ban.
Deep in the Everglades, and within inland parks and nature preserves, wildfire fuel is thick after recent hurricanes knocked down numerous trees. That’s causing firefighters from the Florida Forest Service to warn that access roads are being blocked by dead tree trunks and underbrush, which may slow their response to wildland fires.
The National Weather Service is forecasting drier air and warmer temperatures for later this week, which will cause humidity levels to drop in inland counties, increasing the chance for wildfires during the afternoon.
Federal fire weather officials said there was enough rainfall in other areas of the southern U.S. to damp down the wildfire threat last week, but not in South Florida.
“Little rain fell across southern Florida, where several new wildfires burned thousands of acres in typically swampy areas,” they wrote on the U.S. Drought Monitor website. “Notably, the coverage of severe drought was expanded in Southern Florida.”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
