112 Wildfires Burning Across FL As Drought Continues

With Florida facing its worst drought in 25 years, the dry conditions are fueling wildfire activity across the state.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, there were 112 wildfires totaling 14,000 acres throughout Florida, many of them in the northeastern part of the state, a Florida Forest Service wildfire map shows. The fires are in various stages of being active, controlled or contained.

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Among the largest are the Sargent fire, which is burning 2,523 acres and 81 percent contained in Baker County, FFS data shows. Meanwhile, the Railroad fire in Putnam County is 4,112 acres and 50 percent contained.

Alachula County declared a local state of emergency on Monday afternoon in response to multiple wildfires near Gainesville, including the North Main Street fire, which is covering 106 acres and is 25 percent contained on Tuesday.

Further south in the state, a 1,733-acre fire is 95 percent contained in Collier County.

Amtrak train service, which allows travelers to take their cars on trips, was disrupted in Florida on Monday and Tuesday. The auto train service between Sanford, Florida, near Orlando, and Lorton, Virginia, was canceled.

The Silver Meteor route, which runs between Miami and New York, started and ended in Jacksonville instead of South Florida on Monday, and one of its two daily train trips was canceled for Tuesday.

The Floridian route, running from Miami to Chicago via Washington, started and ended in Savannah, Georgia, and one of its two train trips was canceled for Tuesday, Amtrak said.

See Also:

• Nearly 80% Of FL Experiencing 'Extreme' Drought Conditions
• Water Restrictions Tighten Across Central FL As Extreme Drought Continues
• Severe Drought Dries Up Tampa Bay's Main Water Supply

There’s still a high risk for potential fires throughout the state, fire officials warned.

“Drought conditions, low humidity and winds have led to the U.S. National Weather Service issuing Red Flag Warnings for most of the inland regions in northeast, central and southwest Florida,” Florida Forest Service wrote in a social media post. “As wildfire dangers continue to grow, fire officials do not recommend any outdoor burning of any type.”

Currently, 38 counties in the state are under countywide burn bans.

There’s a high risk of fire in 41 of the state's 67 counties on Tuesday, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Fire Danger Map:

• Alachua
• Baker
• Bay
• Bradford
• Brevard
• Calhoun
• Citrus
• Clay
• Columbia
• Dixie
• Duval
• Gadsden
• Gilchrist
• Gulf
• Hamilton
• Hernando
• Highlands
• Hillsborough
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Lafayette
• Leon
• Levy
• Liberty
• Madison
• Marion
• Nassau
• Orange
• Osceola
• Pasco
• Pinellas
• Polk
• Putnam
• St. Johns
• Sarasota
• Seminole
• Sumter
• Suwannee
• Taylor
• Union
• Wakulla

Earlier this month, nearly 80 percent of Florida was experiencing extreme drought conditions, and nearly all of Florida has faced at least “moderate” drought so far in April, based on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, according to an April 7 report from NASA.

While “unusually dry conditions gripped the state” most of last year, the drought conditions ramped up in January, NASA said.

Since Jan. 1, some parts of the state have received only one-quarter to one-third of their average rainfall, as Florida experiences its worst drought in 25 years, AccuWeather said.

To fully end the drought, at least 2 feet of rain will need to fall over the next three months, or more than 40 inches by the end of the rainy season that starts in October, the Weather Channel said.

This story includes reporting by The Associated Press.