Wildfire Awareness Week is supposed to be held in the abstract, to teach people around the state how to avoid starting real fires or protect their lives and property should one happen, but in Southwest Florida, this year, it is not a drill.
An aquifer for homeowners beneath Cape Coral is running dry. The drought gripping Lee, Hendry, and Collier counties is the worst in the state. Temperatures for the next three months in South Florida are forecast to be above-average. Federal forecasters have no idea if showers will be above or below average, or if any substantial rain will fall. There’s no moisture in the topsoil.
“It’s extremely dry in South Florida, specifically Southwest Florida around the Fort Myers and Naples area," said Rick Dolan, the Florida Forest Service’s director. “The National Weather Service has predicted a dry spring for us through the end of June, and they’ve been pretty spot on.”
Wells continue to go dry
Fort Myers has had half the normal rainfall since the beginning of the year.
There have been twice as many wildfires.
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for noon to 8 p.m. today for an area from inland Lee and inland Charlotte counties north through Highlands, DeSoto, Hardee, and Polk counties.
"Critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly," said the NWS alert broadcast in bulk to cell phones and email accounts. "A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and dry fuels can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
"Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly. Outdoor burning is not recommended."
The Red Flag Warning even extends into northern Cape Coral and portions of Lee County, where water levels in the underground caverns have dropped so low that homeowners are not allowed to water their lawns, but can water plants once a week.
The South Florida Water Management District's
no-water-zone is familiar to many residents of that part of the city: N.E. Pine Island Road on the south, Neilson Road N. on the west, N.E. 24th Avenue and Garden Boulevard on the east, and the Gator Slough Canal on the north.
The caverns holding the water underground are about 125 feet down in parts of the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer, which provides water to many private wells in this area. Water levels in the aquifer are at record low levels, and wells run dry with regularity.
Related stories
- Aquifer experiences record low levels
- Study: North Cape Coral slowly sinking, likely due to over-pumping for city's water desalinization plant
The Keetch-Byram drought index (KBDI) measures soil moisture on a scale from 0 (soaking wet) to 800 (parched dry). As the index rises, it reflects increasing dryness and fire risk.
Lee County reached the highest KBDI in Florida this week at 600. Hendry County, at 596, is very dry as well.
The drought continues.
Southwest Florida’s forests are full of dried-out wildfire fuel that’s ready to burn.
When Hurricane Ian tore through the region in 2022, the Category Four cyclone left in the woods an enormous mess of downed trees, broken branches, and shredded vegetation that has since dried out.
Then came Debbie, Helene, Milton, and other brush-bys.
The amount of fuel out there is staggering.
Before Ian, Southwest Florida's forests were littered with a largely manageable amount of woodsy debris. After Ian, some forests are now loaded with nearly 100 tons of wildfire fuel per acre.
When a wildfire has that much, of that type, of tinder, it burns hotter, spreads faster, and is harder to control. These are the blazes that torch homes in minutes and ruin lives just as fast.
Hurricane Ian’s woody debris all over the forest floor has since been made thicker by trees felled and underbrush killed by hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton.
Always wildfire season
Officially, it’s always wildfire season in Florida.
The core of the season, however, occurs during the months sandwiched between a cold snap or two and when an afternoon thunderstorm is a daily spectacle: January to June.
Most years, wildfire season passes without many wildfires.
Blazes break out in isolated pockets from within the hundreds of thousands of acres of forest in the Panhandle to the vast expanse of the Everglades.
A five-acre blaze near a neighborhood will often lead off the evening news.
Until a season comes along that rivals California’s.
One of those years was drought-stricken 1998, a season dubbed Florida’s Firestorm. Hundreds of wildfires centered in the greater Volusia and Flagler counties region burned so hot, winds whipped so hard, and the evacuations ordered were so complete that they emptied a county of its residents.
Nearly 500,000 acres burned, more than 150 structures were destroyed, a 135-mile stretch of I-95 from Jacksonville to Titusville was closed due to smoky conditions, and 130,000 residents were evacuated – a quarter of those people being every resident of Flagler County.
This year, the federal Drought Monitor service is still forecasting Southwest Florida to continue drying out - now through June.
In 1998, it stayed dry deep into July.
To be clear, just like when this year's drought started settling in several months ago, no wildfire agency is claiming 2025 is going to match 1998. But this year’s drought is a similarity.
“Several factors could make this a busy wildfire season, including leftover debris from multiple hurricanes and forecasts calling for less rain this spring,” said Dolan of the Florida Forest Service. “I’m encouraging people to pay attention to the weather, especially wind, relative humidity, and days since rain.
"Spring is here, and we need to be wildfire ready.”
All residents and businesses across the region can also use these simple tips to save water:
- Check irrigation timers to ensure settings are correct and rain sensors are working properly. Check irrigation systems to ensure they are working properly and test and repair broken pipes and damaged sprinkler heads.
- Fix leaks. Finding and fixing water leaks conserves water, saves money and protects your home from damage.
- When utilizing water indoors, reduce shower durations, minimize loads of laundry, and only run dishwashers when full.
- Landscaping the Florida-Friendly Way by planting low-maintenance plants using environmentally sustainable practices.
- If you are a resident in Northeastern Cape Coral and your well is dry, please reach out to Lee County for more information about drilling a replacement well. Visit leegov.com.
Conserving water year-round is an integral part of managing and protecting our water supplies today and for future generations.
Residents with questions about the irrigation restrictions can visit SFWMD.gov/WaterShortage.
Visit the City of Cape Coral's Lawn Watering Restrictions webpage or you can visit Lee County's Lawn Watering Restrictions webpage for more specific information.
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.
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