Charlotte County sees nearly a dozen brush fires in one season

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Southwest Florida has been no stranger to brush fires this season, with Charlotte County alone seeing almost a dozen fires, including four in the past 48 hours.

WINK News reporter Haley Zarcone covered a 60-acre brush fire along U.S. 41. Neighbors told her they're preparing for these fires as they do for hurricane season.

Violet and Allen White live in the Tropical Palms community off of U.S. 41. They keep a "go" bag ready for emergencies.

"We have a folder with our important papers that we keep in our closet. Just grab that, the dog, dog food, my work computer, and just get out the door as quickly as possible," Violet and Allen White said.

The couple's concern stems from their neighborhood's layout. There are 300 manufactured homes in their community, all relatively close together.

"So our concern is that area, the pasture on the other side, and possibly having to evacuate," the Whites said.

Plumes of smoke set into the air from across the street from their neighborhood during the 60-acre brush fire. Since the start of wildfire season in January, WINK News has reported on at least 11 wildfires in Charlotte County.

Ashley Turner with Charlotte County Fire and EMS described the current conditions. "It's just in a busy season in general, but yeah, just yesterday we were dispatched to three different brush fires, all within about a five-minute time frame," Turner said.

Each fire has ranged from hundreds of acres to just a few. The Florida Forest Service says that with the dry conditions, wildfire season could push further into summer.

While it's wildfire season, it's also lightning and rainy season. Turner told WINK News that while the rain has been good, that alone won't stop a fire.

"It's just really, it's so dry that that water and that rain are just absorbing so quickly, so we will see that number," Turner said. "Just because we have been seeing rain the past few days and last week doesn't mean that fire risk is gone overnight. The drought just doesn't go away overnight."

The Florida Department of Agriculture says wildfire season usually dies down at the end of June. This year, they're calling for "above normal" wildfire potential.