NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — Brush fire season is back and Lee County has the highest wildfire risk at the moment in Florida. With the dry season just getting started, fire officials are wanting to people to keep in mind ways to prevent these fires from happening in the first place.
The South Trail Fire Department tells Fox 4 the number one cause of brush fires is human error.
"Knowing that humans are the main cause of this, it's important to know that we can be the answer to a lot of these problems," spokesperson for the South Trail Fire Department, Amy Bollen said.
Officials said one of the ways you can prevent a brush fire from happening in the first place is to make sure you don't throw your cigarette butts out of the car window.
"They need to choose to keep smoking inside the car and that includes their litter so keeping the butts inside of a vehicle," Bollen said.
Bollen said another cause for brush fires is four-wheelers and dirt bikes. This also applies to people who are camping and start campfires.
"They have to make sure they completely extinguish it with a lot of water," Bollen said.
Bollen adds keeping fireworks out of children's reach is also a good idea at keeping brush fires from happening.
"Parents make the mistake and leave them out so as an adult they must put those out of reach and out of sight," Bollen said.
Another cause for brush fires is leaving cars idling on dry grass.
"Don't drive on there. Stay on a rock dirt or a paved area," Bollen said.
Bollen adds it's important that you are aware of the weather and windy conditions. It's important to evacuate when told to do so.
