County fire chief makes determination on a number of factors, including seasonal rain patterns
Sarasota County Fire Chief Michael Regnier will lift the countywide recreational burn ban effective Friday, June 18, he has announced.
Enacted on May 27, the ban was put in place until the chances of wildfire were reduced and weather conditions changed, a county news release points out.
With seasonal rain patterns having begun, Emergency Management officials are seeing a reduction in the wildfire threat throughout Sarasota County, the release adds.
During a Facebook Live video with Emergency Services Media Relations Officer Sara Nealeigh, Regnier stressed that “it was really dry” when he imposed the ban. “I’m not saying that the drought is over,” he added. “We still have drought conditions.”
However, Regnier continued, in collaboration with the Florida Fire Service, county staff assesses several factors in determining how long to keep a ban in place. For example, he said, “We look at moisture in the ground.”
The lifting of the ban on June 18, he added, will allow people to resume building campfires in protected settings, with clean materials, and to have small cooking fires outside. Nonetheless, he cautioned that the public should continue to take extra care.
“We’re seeing a lot of rain out east,” Regnier pointed out, but areas of the county closer to the coast — such as Siesta Key — have had cloudy skies but much less rain.
For more information, call the county Contact Center at 941-861-5000 or visit scgov.net.