{"id":154829,"date":"2026-02-13T21:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/154829\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T21:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:20:08","slug":"jacksonville-officials-warn-about-serious-wildfire-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/154829\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville officials warn about serious wildfire risks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jacksonville officials issued strict warnings Friday about the elevated risk of wildfires, the result of severe drought conditions across Northeast Florida.<\/p>\n

The city faced 10 times as many wildfires in January as the same month last year. Almost 50 times more acreage was burned.<\/p>\n

Firefighters battled 29 wildfires so far this year, versus only 13 in the same period last year, Fire Chief Percy Golden II said during a news conference Friday. That\u2019s due to a lack of rain in \u201ca dry, dry season\u201d that everyone needs to take seriously, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to educate people and prevent \u2014 we want to be proactive instead of reaction, just trying to educate fire prevention for wildfires and things like that,\u201d Golden said.<\/p>\n

People should clear vegetation around their homes, at least about 30 feet or more if possible, Golden said. Fire pits should be avoided because hot embers can fly off into the woods and wildlands.<\/p>\n

The city is coordinating with the National Weather Service, Florida Forest Service and its own Fire and Rescue Department and Emergency Preparedness Division in case wildfires erupt, Mayor Donna Deegan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big deal. This is no longer time for business as usual,\u201d Deegan said during the news conference at Fire Station 2 in Springfield. \u201cJFRD has the full support to utilize the resources we need to protect the residents and their property. We also have the support of the governor and state of Florida via an executive order, which addresses the impact of winter droughts and wildfire risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The U.S. Drought Monitor map for Northeast Florida shows Northeast Florida in an \u201cextreme drought.\u201d | Drought.gov<\/p>\n

The U.S. Drought Monitor<\/a> states that this is the 33rd driest year in Duval County in the past 132 years and the 33rd driest January on record in that same period. Duval, Nassau, St. Johns, Putnam and Baker counties all are classified as \u201cextreme drought\u201d areas.<\/p>\n

A lack of rain in recent weeks led the St. Johns River Water Management District to declare a moderate water shortage<\/a> in Duval, Baker and three other counties this week. Residents were ordered to avoid \u201cwasteful and unnecessary water use.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a temporary, precautionary declaration made when dry conditions begin to strain water resources. All users are asked to voluntarily reduce use and conserve water to the maximum extent possible.<\/p>\n

The declaration came after staff evaluated rainfall and groundwater levels, river flows and current drought conditions and found that countywide rainfall totals for Duval<\/a> and the four other counties were at or below 40 inches for the past year, the district said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd really what sets this drought apart from prior droughts we\u2019ve had is \u2026 the number of freezes we\u2019ve experienced, particularly in January and February,\u201d National Weather Services meteorologist Ben Nelson said. \u201cThose were 21 freezes, which is above the normal of 15 that we see in a year. And eight of those freezes were hard. That killed quite a bit of vegetation around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Jacksonville Fire Chief Percy Golden II, left, joined Mayor Donna Deegan and other officials Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, to warn about wildfire risks.| Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

Florida Forest Service spokesperson Mike Work said the service has helped the fire department battle 11 blazes this year, versus one in the same period last year, all due to frost-damaged and dry vegetation.<\/p>\n

Golden said the fire department has nine four-wheel-drive brush trucks that can get into rougher terrain to \u201chandle wildfires in ways that standard fire engines cannot.\u201d More firefighting resources are being set up, Work said.<\/p>\n

More wildfire precautions<\/p>\n

Fire officials said all outdoor burning is prohibited in Jacksonville anyway without a city permit. Golden warned people not to leave barbecues or fire pits unattended and douse them with water when done.<\/p>\n

Drivers should not toss lit cigarettes out car windows or use equipment that sprays sparks, which can set dry grass ablaze, Golden added. <\/p>\n

City and state officials asked residents to call 911 if they see any fire. If you \u201ccatch them small, you keep them small,\u201d Work said.<\/p>\n

Duval County residents were told to download the city\u2019s AlertJax emergency notifications app<\/a> to receive the latest emergency notifications from Duval County Emergency Management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jacksonville officials issued strict warnings Friday about the elevated risk of wildfires, the result of severe drought conditions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-154829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154829","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=154829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}