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Contact: Joe Zwierzchowski, (850) 206-2675
Twitter: @FLForestService & @FFS_Blackwater
MILTON, Fla. – Officials with the Florida Forest Service’s Blackwater Forestry Center are issuing words of caution as wildland firefighters in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties have responded to nine wildfires in the past week.
Cold weather and a lack of rain in the past several days has left much of the thin, highly flammable vegetation available to burn as fuel for a wildfire. Low humidity also has increased the potential for fire activity. Residents are asked to be extremely cautious with any outdoor fires – burning yard debris, charcoal grills, campfires – and follow Florida’s outdoor burn laws.
Those who chose to burn yard debris may do so in piles less than 8 feet in diameter as long as they meet the required setbacks (25 feet from your home, 25 feet from the wildlands or other combustible structure, 50 feet from a paved public road and 150 feet from any other occupied buildings) and there are no city or county ordinances against it. In addition to meeting the required setbacks, it is recommended that those who chose to burn have a charged water hose and shovel or rake on hand, never burn on windy days and never leave a fire unattended.
For more information on how to be better prepared in case you are ever impacted by a wildfire, please visit www.FDACS.gov/BeWildfireReadyFL.
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. The Florida Forest Service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects wildfire on more than 26 million acres. Learn more at FDACS.gov/FLForestService.
The mission of Escambia County government is to provide efficient, responsive services that enhance our quality of life, meet common needs and promote a safe and healthy community.
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