Wildfire danger high

Jefferson County is under a heightened wildfire alert, according to the Florida Forest Service (FFS), a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture.
According to the FFS, Jefferson and the several counties west of it are at high risk of wildfires, while Madison and Taylor counties to the east are at moderate risk.
The agency attributes the heightened risks to the state's drought conditions, which are expected to persist despite the recent rains.
The FFS reports that it has already battled more than 700 wildfires across the state since the start of the year. It is urging county residents to exercise extreme caution if they are engaging in any kinds of burnings.
The FFS reports 41 active wildfires throughout the state, one of them in Madison County, with the majority of the fires caused by escaped yard trash burns. Escaped debris burning, in fact, is one of the leading causes of wildfires in Florida, according to the FFS.
“Many wildfires this year have unfortunately been human-caused,” says FFS forester Jim Karels. “It's imperative that Floridians be cautious with fire to help protect the state's residents, natural resources and wildland firefighters.”
The wildfire risks map shows that areas in the northwestern and north central part of the state are mostly at moderate to high risks, whereas areas in the northeastern, middle and southern parts of the state are at very high to extreme risks.
The FFS reminds residents that certain types of burning require authorization, such as agricultural, silvicultural, land clearing and pile and acreage burnings. But not yard waste, which is considered vegetative debris, such as grass clippings, brush, leaves, tree limbs and the like that result from yard maintenance.
According to the FFS, yard waste may be burned without authorization so long as the locally established setback requirements are followed, the yard waste was generated on the property, and it fits in an 8-foot diameter pile or non-combustible container. Also, the burning must take place between 9 a.m. and one hour before sunset.
The FFS oversees more than one million acres of state forests. It also provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests, and is responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from wildfires on another 26-plus million acres.