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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Significantly dryer conditions in South Florida are causing more wildfires this year, according to Florida Forest Service officials.
How do they know this?
The organization follows something called the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) which ranges from (saturated) 0 to 800 (desert-like conditions). The index number increases for each day without rain and decreases when it does rain.
As for South Florida, our numbers are quite high.
As of Thursday, the KBDI for Miami-Dade was 575 , 548 in Palm Beach and 591 for Broward counties compared to a year ago where the KBDI was 269 for Miami-Dade, 166 for Palm Beach and 272 for Broward.
“Our drought index has been steadily increasing the past several weeks due to lower than normal rainfall”, said Scott Peterich, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist. “These dry conditions have resulted in an increase of wildfires throughout the district.”
So far in 2015, there have been 109 wildfires. That’s a stark difference from the 82 wildfires reported last year in South Florida.
For those who live in or near ‘wildland’ areas that may be near flammable vegetation, forest officials are asking them to follow some tips to keep their homes safe.
The tips are as follow:
- Homes should be surrounded by a “lean, clean and green” buffer zone that extends at least 30 feet.
- The area should be free of highly flammable vegetation and well maintained.
- Remove leaves, pine needles and twigs from roofs and gutters.
- Any flammable materials like lumber, brush, debris piles and propane tanks, should be away from the home.
For more information call the Florida Forest Service Arson Alert Hotline at 1-800-342-5869.
