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Dry weather helping Lake Okeechobee recover from Hurricane Irma

Posted at 5:11 PM, Mar 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-29 04:32:43-04

Dry conditions are fueling wildfires, but on the flip side, they are helping Lake Okeechobee recover from Hurricane Irma.

Dr. Paul Gray with Audobon Florida says high lake levels and turbidity after Hurricane Irma killed miles and miles of underwater vegetation.

The drought is changing that.

"Today we're happy the lake is just below 14 feet," said Gray.

However, there's a still a long road to recovery.

"How dirty the lake is when it gets stirred up," said Gray.

Gray says the levels need to continue to fall significantly in order for the ecosystem to recover.

"We want the lake to reach a low of 12.5 feet by the end of dry season with the lake this damaged, 12 would be better and 11 would be even better," said Gray.

The hope at least for him, is this dry weather continues.