National Wildfire Awareness Week is April 8-14, 2012
Florida has many characteristics that make much of the state very prone to wildfires. First, the state has a large area of wildlands, which are areas of land not used for agriculture or development. As population increases in Florida, many new builders are expanding and developing near and into these wildlands, which creates a dangerously close urban-wildland border across much of the state. The closer homes and people are to wildlands, the more likely they are to be threatened by a wildfire.

Florida Fire Facts…

• Florida has the second highest number of wildfires in the nation. During dry years, Florida experiences severe wildfires—wildfires that destroy homes and disrupt people's lives.
• In 2011, Florida saw over 4,800 wildfires burn nearly 300,000 acres of state and federal lands.
• Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do. Fire uses up the oxygen you need and produces smoke and poisonous gases. Breathing even small amounts of smoke and toxic gases can make you drowsy, disoriented and short of breath. If the fire is intense, smoke from the fire can be blown hundreds of miles away.
• Fire is FAST! In less than 30 seconds, a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house. In minutes, a house can be engulfed in flames.
• Heat is more threatening than flames. A fire's heat alone can kill. Temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at ground level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. In five minutes, a room can get so hot that it ignites everything at once: this is called a flashover.

More information about wildfires and what you can do to protect yourself and others can be found at the Florida Forest Service's website or at GoodFires.org.

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