Lee County enacts burn ban due to dry conditions

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Lee County has enacted a burn ban for all unincorporated areas and municipalities effective immediately due to increasingly dry conditions throughout Southwest Florida.

The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted to enact the ban at a regularly scheduled meeting today.

The county's ordinance bans "outdoor burning ignition sources," including campfires, bonfires and trash burning. Grills for food are not included.

Officials ask all county residents to be mindful of dry conditions and to use good judgment to mitigate potential for significant wildfires.

For the county to enact a burn ban, certain conditions must be met, including a Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) that reached or exceeds a value of 600. Lee's index value was a mean average of 637 out of 800 Monday afternoon.

This ban does not apply to prescribed burns authorized by the Florida Forest Service.

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