Florida Forest Service warns of wildfire danger
The Florida Forest Service, Withlacoochee Forestry Center urges residents to be very careful with outdoor activities that could lead to a wildfire, as it takes all of us working together to prevent wildfires. The forestry center has not issued recent burn authorizations, due to high danger of fire. Activities which require a burn authorization from the Florida Forest Service are agricultural burning, silvicultural burning, land clearing, pile burning, and acreage burning.
Burn authorization is not normally needed to burn yard waste, such as grass clippings, brush, leaves, tree limbs, palm fronds, etc.; however, due to the extremely dry conditions and the high fire danger index reports, burning yard waste is NOT recommended at this time.
Citrus County Fire Rescue says it has responded to more than 150 brush fire calls this year, and does not recommend burning yard waste at this time due to dry conditions and escaped debris burning being one of the leading causes of wildfires in Florida.
In Dunnellon, Florida on May 21, Marion County Fire Rescue battled a brush fire that covered approximately 80 acres, forcing the evacuation of 25 homes in the path of the fire, in the Florida Highlands neighborhood, and on May 25, Marion County issued a countywide voluntary burn ban due to the lack of rain and high risk for wildfires. Residents were urged to cease the use of fireworks, sparklers, flares, or other pyrotechnic devices, with campfires permitted only within designated recreational areas only.