Director of the Florida Forest Service Rick Dolan said most of the wildfires are being started by people, whether it was accidental or intentional.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Firefighters are battling multiple wildfires across the state of Florida and the Director of the Florida Forest Service is urging residents to remain vigilant.
Rick Dolan has been in the fire service for more than 30 years and fought fires during the 1998 wildfire outbreak.
“I was on a dozer in 1998 fighting fire, and that is the benchmark for our agency. Prior to that, everybody said 1985, man, it was the worst year ever, and then 1998 came,” Dolan explained.
Nearly 500,000 acres burned during the 1998 firestorm and more than 300 homes were destroyed. Dolan said the difference between 1998 and the current wildfire outbreak was the weather during the winter.
“The winter of 1998, January and February, we were flooding in North Central Florida. We were in an El Nino year that year, so we had a lot of rainfall in the winter. And it was a cooler, wetter winter that year, and again, we were dealing with floods in February and then the rain stopped. March 1st came and the rain stopped. And it didn’t rain again till mid-July,” Dolan said.
Dolan added the Forest Service has already responded to over 1,700 since the start of 2026. His concern now is lightning.
“We haven’t had lightning yet. We’ve had a little bit, not much in the state, and it is going to get worse before it gets better because we could have a lot of areas that don’t receive the rain and get lightning, and that’s going to create, because we’re so dry, it’s such a tinderbox out there, it’s going to create, every lightning strike has a potential as a new start,” Dolan explained.
A lot changed about the way the state fought wildfires after the outbreak of 1998. Dolan said now they have new equipment that helps they fight more efficiently.
“We have newer helicopters which are more efficient, can stay on fires longer. We have a drone program now that has really been taken forward by our drone program manager in the last three years with continued support from Commissioner Simpson,” Dolan said.
Dolan said many of the wildfires currently burning were started by humans, whether it was intentionally or by accident. He added it does not take much to create a spark.
“It could be somebody dragging a chain on their trailer and it sets the road shoulder on fire. A catalytic converter on a car in tall grass can start a fire. Somebody mowing grass and could hit a rock and spark the grass and it’s so dry right now it could start a fire,” Dolan explained.
As crews continue to battle the wildfires and the draught conditions continue, Dolan said everyone can play a part in keeping their homes safe.
“Clear the vegetation away from your homes and your property there because that will give a firefighter a chance to be able to defend it. If the vegetation’s right up to your house, that doesn’t give us much chance to be able to save your property,” Dolan explained.
To learn more about wildfire and prevention, Dolan suggests visiting the Florida Department of Agriculture website.