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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Zwierzchowski, (850) 206-2675
Twitter: @FLForestService & @FFS_Blackwater
MILTON, Fla. - Officials with the Florida Forest Service’s Blackwater Forestry Center are putting a halt to issuing authorizations for all prescribed or pile burns as increased winds and extremely low humidity arrives in the area for the next several days. The cold front coupled with a lack of rain over the past several weeks make for extremely dangerous conditions if any fires were to start.
The National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch through Wednesday because of critically low humidity levels – as low as 15-20% – and sustained north winds of 15-20 mph with gusts to 30.
While there are no burn bans in effect, residents of Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties are urged to not conduct any outdoor burning until conditions improve.
“We all know it’s dry and folks just need to be careful,” said David Smith, Operations Administrator for the Blackwater Forestry Center. “It’s not completely out of the ordinary to have a dry fall, but it’s important that people are cautious with what they’re doing in regard to fire until we get some significant rain.”
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.
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