TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- As more than 100 wildfires burn across the state of Florida, Governor Rick Scott has declared a State of Emergency to ensure proper response to the danger of more fires.
Forecasts predict hotter and drier conditions than normal in Florida during the coming months.
Florida wildfires have already burned 250 percent more acreage during the first three months of 2017 than during the same time period last year.
There are currently more than 100 active wildfires across more than 20,000 acres in Florida.
"Much of Central and South Florida are approaching drought-like conditions and the chances for wildfires are continuing to increase with hotter temperatures and low rainfall. This may only get worse as we enter the hotter summer months and it is crucial that we take every action right now to be prepared," says Governor Scott.
“Wildfires are burning more than 20,000 acres in Florida right now, and we haven’t seen this active of a season since 2011. From St. George Island in the Panhandle to a wildfire just north of one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions in Orlando, we’re seeing that every area of our state is susceptible to wildfire. I thank Governor Scott for signing this executive order, which will ensure we have every resource available to us to combat these wildfires to protect life, property and wildlife,” says Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
Since February, wildfires have swept across 68,000 acres of the state. That amount is higher than the average acreage burned over the past five years.
The largest blaze right now is the one known as the Cowbell Fire in the Big Cypress National Preserve, which has spread to more than 10,000 acres about a mile north of Alligator Alley.
A Hernando County brush fire apparently sparked by lightning on Saturday had widened to 1,100 acres by Monday.
The dry conditions mark sharp contrast to 2016, when the state was drenched by two hurricanes.
