Officials with the Florida Forest Service say recent rains are not enough to tamp down the hundreds of wildfires raging across the state. Parts of the state are still in a drought.
“I got my fingers crossed that the patterns are changing, but we’ll see," said Jim Karels, director of the Florida Forest Service.
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This past winter was the second warmest in Florida’s history and one of the driest. Karels said a couple days of rain doesn’t make up for months of below average precipitation.
“So, we’ve got a ways to go yet," he said. "A lot of fire starting to develop in the conservation areas - the conservation lands. Everglades down there is two fires about 5,000 acres each."
More than 200,000 acres have burned and Karels is keeping an eye on a South Georgia fire near Baker County. Ahead of the holiday weekend, many counties have burn bans in place.
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