May has been wetter than normal, which has been a blessing in an area where wildfires can spring up, literally like a bolt of lightning.
But as hurricane season approaches that doesn’t mean the risk of fires has gone. In fact, according to an expert, the danger of fires is a year-round reality.
Victor Hill, a wildlife mitigation specialist with the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center, said the early May rains helped initially.
“The rain came sooner, which was helpful. Even more, there weren’t as many lightning-caused fires,” Hill said. “We’ve had a few fires, but not to the degree of what we had last spring at Golden Gate Estates.”
That fire, caused by a lightning strike, burned more than 2,800 acres.
Because of the rain, the Forestry Service has been able to do more prescribed burns than in the past few years, including one on Pine Island last week, Hill said.
Yet, even with the rain, much of the Caloosahatchee region is still dry, especially west of I-75, which has seen lower-than-normal rainfall for two years.
But, once the rainy season begins that doesn’t mean the risk of fire ends. All it takes is one bolt of lightning, which causes about a quarter of all fires.
“Once the rain settles in, we still have fires. It’s a year-round thing,” Hill said. “There’s more lightning in the summer, and if you live in an area with more vegetation, you can’t get complacent.”