Cape Coral burn ban persists despite weekend rain, drought conditions linger

CAPE CORAL, Fla., - Cape Coral experienced some rain Saturday night, but the city remains under a burn ban due to ongoing dry conditions.

The ban prohibits fire pits, campfires, and burning yard debris until the drought index improves for seven consecutive days.

"Usually my grass stays pretty well maintained and growing throughout the year. But this year, like I said, it's just, I've given up on it," said Tim Crout, a local weather watcher, describing the impact of the dry spell on his lawn.

Cape Coral finally saw a bit of rain over the weekend.

"I think it was a quarter inch maybe," said Crout. "I slept through it."

Despite the rain, fire risks remain high, prompting the city's decision to keep the burn ban in place.

"I definitely agree with that. I think you've got to be precautious," Crout said.

WINK News Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler explained the current drought conditions in the area.

"Our drought index showing Cape Coral, surrounding areas of Lee County and other areas surrounding under that level two, moderate drought across southwest Florida," said Kreidler.

Kreidler shared that the recent rain wasn't enough to alleviate the drought.

"We saw about a 10th of an inch to about a half of an inch on average. And this is our Doppler estimated rainfall totals, where you can see some areas of Cape Coral a quarter of an inch of rain. Other areas got closer to a half of an inch of rain. We'll take any rain that we can get. That's not bad, but we are going to need a lot more rain in order to get out of the drought," Kreidler said.

Kreidler emphasized the importance of rainfall in maintaining water levels.

"We have so many bodies of water, especially in Cape Coral, we don't want to see those water levels continuing to decrease like we already are. We need rain to help bring those levels up. So that's why it's so important, especially in areas like the cape where we get that much-needed rainfall," said Kreidler.

The City of Cape Coral continues to monitor the drought index closely.