PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — More than 16 million people are under a drought as we end the fifth driest April in Florida's history.
Fire crews across the state, including on the Treasure Coast, are battling brush fires — with the most severe effects being felt in Palm Beach County.
WPTV Journalist Michael Hoffman is walking through what you need to know about that danger.
Martin County Fire Rescue sent us a picture of a brush fire that they’re attempting to extinguish in Martin County.
“No idea what the cause is going to be, or anything like that,” said David Grubich with the Florida Forestry Service.
It’s just one of many fires crews are battling today, and the culprit is extreme drought.
“Too many [fires] just popped off, just today alone, with the little fires that we're dealing with,” said Grubich. “So yes, it's across all of South Florida right now. We're just one spark away from having another wildfire.”
Grubich says, unless we get a substantial rain soon, he worries the conditions will get worse.
“We're getting into that historic range now,” said Grubich.
If we look county by county, with data provided by NOAA, we can see just how many people in our are effected by this drought.
Three of our five counties stand out. We’re seeing 146,000 people effected in Martin County, just under 142,000 in St. Lucie County and near 1.3 million in Palm Beach County.
WPTV First Alert Meteorologist Chris Sowers says, thankfully we can expect some rain on the way — but not as much as we need to get us out of danger.
“We do have downpours on the way in thunderstorms, so, you know, some of it's going to seep in, some of it's going to run off, but you need multiple events like this to put a dent in this drought,” said Sowers.
Sowers says now is not the time to burn trash, have a bonfire or do anything else that can produce a spark. He says something as simple as a lawnmower striking a rock, could fan a flame into a raging forest fire.
“You know, look, you're going to get some nice weather, too, this weekend,” said Sowers. “Enjoy yourself but just be smart about it. You know, try not to burn anything.”
