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Wildfire fears grow with lack of rainfall
By Dana Treen, The Times-Union
May 13, 2008
Low rainfall is beginning to cause some reason for concern in Northeast Florida as wildfire conditions worsen.
"We really need rain every week to keep a balance," Annaleasa Winter of the state Division of Forestry said Monday. "We expect May to be like this, and June."
Since the beginning of March, rainfall is down 2.33 inches from normal and winds have been unusually high because of a convergence of low and high-pressure areas, National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Carroll said.
He said winds are expected to die down some in the next few days and the next best chance of rain is predicted for 40 percent on Saturday. On Thursday and Friday, the chance of rain is 20 percent, he said.
Better luck in Georgia
Southeast Georgia has had better luck with rain, he said.
Gov. Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency as the dry, windy weather fueled several wildfires on the state's central Atlantic coast, according to the Associated Press.
Hundreds of residents have been ordered to evacuate from their homes. No injuries have been reported.
Among the wildfires Sunday, one in St. Johns County was set by children playing with a lighter, fire department spokesman Jeremy Robshaw said. He said as many as three children, all younger than 6 years old, were playing with a lighter that caused a 20-acre fire in Vermont Heights west of Interstate 95 off Florida 207. A few houses had to be evacuated.
A larger fire, the Carter Road Fire west of St. Augustine, burned 180 acres and was sparked by logging equipment, according to the Forestry Division.
Burn ban in Flagler
Excessive conditions in Flagler County also prompted officials to enact a burn ban that prohibits campfires and most outdoor burning, excluding barbecue grills. The ban carries fines and will have to be renewed every seven days.
Winter said light, dead leaf litter and debris that ignite first when fires start become airborne in the wind and set fire to other vegetation. She said dry conditions in the southern part of the state are moving northward.
"The next couple of months is going to be pretty rocky," she said.
Fire officials say the largest fire is in Malabar, where about 3,000 acres burned and at least two homes have been destroyed, according to The Associated Press.
Near that, in Palm Bay, one home was destroyed and students at two schools were released early as a precaution.
About 80 miles north in Daytona Beach, an 800-acre fire led to an evacuation order for about 500 homes. No structures were reported damaged, though officials warned that embers could fly more than a mile from the blaze and spark new hot spots.
Times-Union writer Jim Schoettler and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
dana.treen@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4091
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