BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Central Florida is experiencing a dangerous dry spell, putting our area under an extreme fire threat. Burn bans and water shortage alerts are in place.
Three Central Florida counties are currently under burn bans. Brevard, Flagler, and Marion counties are banning any commercial land clearing or unattended outdoor grills for at least the next week.
The Brevard County Fire Chief told commissioners Tuesday why activating this ban now is crucial.
“We have that freeze, we have the vegetation on the ground, it freezes, dries up even more and it is even more volatile,” Chief Patrick Voltaire, said.
Brevard County Communications Director Don Walker said on top of the freeze and lack of rain, high winds make the county highly susceptible to fires.
“Over the last few weeks, especially after the cold front we had, we have dry ground,” Walker said. “A lot of brush fires. We’ve had several pop up in the last two weeks.”
Just this month, both the north and southbound lanes of I-95 from Saint John’s Heritage Parkway to Malabar Road were shut down from heavy smoke from a nearby brush fire.
Walker is urging residents to pay close attention to what they do during this dry stretch.
“Anything where a simple spark could suddenly turn into a massive fire that could potentially affect homes or make other structures not safe,” Walker said. “Now is the time to be cognizant of that.”
Until conditions improve, Walker said Brevard County will remain under this burn ban for the foreseeable future.
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