across the Tampa Bay area<\/a> are raising alarms as wildfire activity increases far earlier than normal, fueled by dry conditions, lingering storm debris, and a lack of meaningful rainfall.<\/p>\nThe Florida Forest Service says conditions are beginning to resemble 2011 \u2014 the state\u2019s last major fire season \u2014 and the concern is growing as crews respond to more fires, and larger ones, by the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing a lot of fires earlier than we are used to,\u201d said Todd Chlanda with the Florida Forest Service. \u201cWe are not seeing the precipitation that we need to help with these fires.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the past week alone, firefighters have seen a sharp rise in call volume. Locally, crews responded to two fires Thursday, two more Friday, six on Sunday, and six again Monday. Officials say not only are fires becoming more frequent \u2014 they\u2019re also growing faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because the conditions are so conducive to burning,\u201d Chlanda said.<\/p>\n
Officials point to worsening drought conditions and dry swamps that would normally hold water this time of year. The region also missed out on tropical moisture last year, leaving vegetation stressed and vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, we\u2019ve been fortunate,\u201d Chlanda said. \u201cWe\u2019re not seeing a lot of strong winds.\u201d But he warns that may soon change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are at the pivotal time in the weather where we are going to start seeing some of those increasing wind changes,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re having to prepare a lot earlier this year than we have before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another major concern is fire fuel \u2014 debris left behind from hurricanes over the past several years that never fully decomposed.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because we didn\u2019t have a hurricane last year doesn\u2019t mean that we don\u2019t have debris on the ground,\u201d Chlanda said. \u201cThe vegetation is still there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fire officials say even what looks like a perfect weather day can be dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cA nice sunny day, light wind, 70 or 80 degrees \u2014 people think that\u2019s a great day,\u201d Chlanda said. \u201cAnd it is, but usually those conditions with lower humidity are not a great day for us. Because we\u2019re running fires.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forestry crews measure how quickly debris dries out \u2014 and right now, they say conditions are extreme. Pine needles, considered \u201cone-hour fuels,\u201d can ignite just an hour after rain. Larger branches, known as \u201cthousand-hour fuels,\u201d are now dry enough to burn \u2014 a sign officials say underscores how severe conditions have become.<\/p>\n
With the risk rising, the state has reduced burn authorizations and is urging residents to take prevention seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing people can do is clean up around your home,\u201d Chlanda said. \u201cRaking leaves and pine needles, removing them from around structures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials also urge caution with outdoor activities, vehicles parked in tall grass, and equipment that could spark a fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cPay attention to the weather,\u201d Chlanda said. \u201cDon\u2019t go out and burn. There\u2019s a better time to burn \u2014 and right now is not that time.\u201d<\/p>\n
While some rain is in the forecast, fire officials say it won\u2019t be enough to break the drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to take widespread, substantial, long-term precipitation,\u201d Chlanda said.<\/p>\n
Unless that happens, the forecast is for wildfire activity across Florida to remain above average through May.<\/p>\n
For more wildfire safety tips, visit Be Wild Fire Ready<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Officials point to worsening drought conditions and dry swamps that would normally hold water this time of year.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-152158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}