Recent rainfall has prompted Volusia, Brevard and Osceola counties to lift the outdoor burning ban put in place due to unusually dry conditions.
The other Central Florida counties with bans in effect -- Sumter, Lake and Orange -- could soon follow suit, because the Keetch-Byram Drought Index used to gauge fire danger has improved and the Fire Danger Index throughout Florida is low.
The KBDI has dropped below the 450 level throughout the region. Counties typically impose burn bans after the index, which has a range of 0-800, reaches 500.
But county officials continue to urge fire safety practices and awareness of your surroundings when burning because there is still the potential for wildfires to develop.
“The rains we have received over the past week have reduced the fire danger, but we ask residents to continue practicing fire safety because there is still a significant amount of dry vegetation throughout the county,” Volusia County Fire Chief Joe King said in a prepared statement.
“The recent rains have helped, but we are still experiencing a long-term drought.”
Indeed, Volusia County had the second-driest January through April in the past 131 years, with rainfall amounts 6.75 inches below normal.
