SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – It’s so dry outside, you can hear the leaves crunching when you walk on the grass. This is why Sarasota County and the City of North Port issued a burn ban.
“Right now, we’re the third driest district in the state, behind Caloosahatchee and Everglades,” Myakka River District of Florida Forest Service’s Wildfire Mitigation Specialist, Patrick Mahoney said.
Which means there’s more chance of wildfires.
“It’s dangerous, we want everybody to be careful,” North Port Fire Chief Scott Titus said.
The burn ban means we should avoid campfires, bonfires, ceremonial fires, and even candles. Basically, any open fires not specifically permitted by Florida Forest Service. Grilling outside is the exception, if you’re careful.
“Discarded cooking materials, people’s charcoal grills, they want to not do,” Titus said. “Discarded smoking materials, we ask people not to throw cigarettes out the window. Under normal times of the year, sometimes that may not cause an issue, now is a tough time. We don’t want to park vehicles in the high grass that’ll cause fire issues.”
This is important because embers travel.
“Anywhere that you have a wooded area, whether it’s a 10th of an acre or a hundred acres,” Mahoney said. “You have to remember that under the right conditions, an ember from your fire can travel up to a mile.”
During this dry season, Mahoney advises you to clear your house of any tree limbs.
“The biggest thing you can do right now is roofs and gutters are clean from any leaf debris that may be sitting in there. Make sure there are no limbs toughing your home,” Mahoney said. “That way if the fire does get in that tree it won’t get in your house.”
If you do end up with a fire in your home, call 911. And should a wildfire erupt, prepare to evacuate your area.
