Flagler County enacts burn ban as dry conditions, low rainfall totals persist
The ban went into effect at 5 p.m. along with a state of local emergency declaration. The measure will be in effect for the next seven days, according to county spokeswoman Julie Murphy.
The lack of rainfall and dry weather that prompted the county to adopt the burn ban Wednesday serves as an opportunity for officials to remind residents of what they can do to prevent recent weather conditions from leading to accidental fires that can break out on their property and potentially spread to surrounding areas.
'The conditions are becoming favorable for rapid fire growth so this action will help,' said Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Michael Tucker in a press release. 'In addition to the ban on burning, remember that a good offense is the best defense. Clear the area around your house of anything that will go up in flames easily — including stacks of firewood, portable propane tanks, and dead, dry vegetation.'
City of Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill spoke about the situation during a City Council workshop Tuesday night, April 22.
"In the state of Florida, we've experienced some pretty extreme wildfire conditions this year so far, and in Flagler County we have been on the northern-most edge of that," Berryhill said.
During a burn ban period, the county prohibits the following:
"Discharge/use of fireworks, sparklers, flares or other items containing any 'explosive compound.'
Open burning, including the use of fire pits and containers.
Outdoor cookers and grills unless continuously attended by an adult.
Throwing matches, cigarettes or other burning materials from vehicles.
Parking vehicles with catalytic converters in high grassy areas."
A "rule of thumb" for how residents can best approach those preventative measures, as the county's press release highlighted, "is that all flammable items within 30 feet of a structure should be removed."
"Additionally, do not store things under decks or porches, and consider using rocks or gravel in those areas instead grass or mulch,' Tucker said. 'Wood-driven fires, like brushfires, create embers that can be carried quite far, and tend to find their way to the same nooks and crannies where leaves accumulate.'
Homeowners should "clear roofs, eaves, gutters, wood decks and patios of leaves," according to the county.
"Please take this burn ban seriously,' Tucker added. 'It's been about a year since we've had one in Flagler County, so please heed our warnings.'
One of the factors that also contributed to the county's decision was the Keetch Byram Drought Index (KBDI) mean level for Flagler County, which was expected to exceed 500 by Wednesday night.
The KBDI is "a continuous reference scale for estimating the dryness of the soil and duff layers," according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It is measured in a range from zero to 800 in which zero is the wettest condition and 800 is the driest, or drought.
"We are at 489 today," Berryhill said at Tuesday's meeting.
The fire chief emphasized the important role residents can play in preventing accidental fires. The department, he said, is in touch with the city's utility department "to ensure that we have an adequate water supply to protect our citizens."
"We're not in the mode to where we need to be alarmed today, but we are in a great time for us to ensure that our plan is prepared," Berryhill said.
Rainfall amounts have been 4.36 inches below normal for this time of year in Flagler County, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. The total amount this year so far is around 5.9 inches, according to Bob Pickering, county emergency management specialist.
The National Weather Service forecast calls for sunny and partly cloudy skies through the rest of the week in Flagler County, though slight 20-30% rain chances are expected between Sunday and Monday.
According to Danny Dubois, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, a change of rain patterns as Florida transitions between spring and summer seasons usually happens by the end of May.
"In the Climate Prediction Center's 8-14-day outlook, beyond what we forecast for, there is a slightly leaning above chance for higher precipitation than normal," Dubois said. "So end of the month into early May we might see a little bit of a shift."
Even though that might apply more to northeast Florida, the change of pattern means rain season is coming soon next month, he added.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Burn ban enacted in Flagler to protect against dry conditions
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