ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Forest Service officials said they are already seeing an uptick in smoke complaints and they are sharing how residents can best prepare for wildfires this year.
"The air was pretty intense with the smoke," one resident said.
It doesn’t take long to find a St. Lucie County resident impacted by wildfires.
"The air was smokey, you didn't want to go outside. The skies were grey," another resident said.
Residents spoke with WPTV's Danielle Seat about a massive mulch fire that engulfed St. Lucie County communities in smoke for weeks last year. However, crews in the county battle dozens of wildfires every year.
"The dry conditions are continuing to get higher and higher," a resident said. "And if we don't see any sort of precipitation or rain in the coming weeks, those calls are just going to increase."
That's a shock to many who are new to the area.
"We were pretty taken back that there were wildfires in Florida," a resident said.
Florida Forest Service Wildfire Mitigation Specialist Miguel Nevarez said since the start of this year, wildfires have burned more than 15 acres of land in St Lucie County, 30 acres in Martin County and more than 35 in Indian River County.
Last year between the three counties, well over 2,000 acres were burned by wildfires.
"If conditions don't improve," he said, "we can easily see these numbers bump up from this year."
Almost all of which, he said, could've been prevented.
"One of the major causes of wildfires is humans. Not to say that it's caused on purpose, it’s more accidental, Nevarez said. "And people don't realize what they're doing and what they can be doing to prevent it."
Since the start of January, Nevarez said, vehicles driving in tall grass, illegal pile burning, and fireworks have caused the majority of wildfires.
"It's all about awareness," he said.
If a wildfire does start in your area, here's how to best prevent it from impacting your home:
- Make sure your gutters and roofs are cleared off
- Repair any holes in your screens
- Keep your lawn maintained
- Make sure there are no trees leaning against your home
"Embers from that fire can land on top of your roof, and if it's not clean, you can have a fire on your roof," Nevarez said.