January 17

January 17, 2001 - Gov. Jeb Bush Requests Federal Disaster Declaration as Wildfire Fears Intensify in Florida

News Release

Wildfire threat intensifies as drought continues in Florida. Governor Jeb Bush asks U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Dan Glickman, to declare numerous counties agricultural disaster areas.

Just about everything south of the Panhandle in Florida is engulfed in severe drought with three (3) years of below-average rainfall. Scott Goodrick, State Division of Forestry meteorologist, said during a briefing with Gov. Bush and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford, he could remember "only two (2) years, ever, that came even close to this."

Sun-Sentinel article follows:

As state thirsts for rain, wildfire fears intensify

By DAVID COX Sun-Sentinel
Web-posted: 10:53 p.m. Jan. 16, 2001

TALLAHASSEE -- With Central Florida in one of its worst droughts in more than a century, state officials are considering even more precautions to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic wildfire season of 1998.
   Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford said Tuesday that he may impose a backyard burning ban for residential areas within the next few days and kick off an education campaign on television and radio to help make people aware of the seriousness of the drought conditions.
   Gov. Jeb Bush also asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to declare 18 counties, including Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Seminole and Volusia, agricultural disaster areas because of the lingering drought. Such a declaration would make it easier for farmers to get federal loans to help see them through the drought, which is expected to last until late May or June when the rainy season typically begins.
   While just about everything south of Florida's Panhandle is engulfed in a severe drought, the combination in central and southwest Florida of three (3) years of below-average rainfall plus this winter's freezing temperatures has left the landscape drier than almost any year since 1895.
   "There were only two other years, and I can't even remember which ones, that even came close to this past year as far as drought," state division of forestry meteorologist Scott Goodrick told Bush and Crawford during a briefing.
   The conditions have already spawned a record number of fires throughout the state during the first 15 days of this year compared to the same period in recent years. There were 388 fires reported from Jan. 1 to Jan. 15, compared with 246 during the same period in 2000, 154 in 1999 and 99 in 1998, the Department of Agriculture reported.
   Florida's worst wildfire season in recent memory was 1998 when 500,000 acres burned, causing more than $400 million in damage and destroying or damaging 350 homes. Some of the worst fires that year were in Flagler and Volusia counties.
   The agricultural industry is being affected because there is not enough water in the ground to sustain healthy crops and other farm products.
   The lack of rain is stunting the growth of oranges and other citrus, making it hard to raise tropical fish and affecting the number of campers visiting Florida's wilderness areas, said Craig Fugate, the state's emergency response director.
   "This drought is going beyond just wildfires," Fugate told Bush. "It's going to impact us across the board."
   The state has declared $180 million in crop damage because of freezing temperatures this winter, but the damage caused by the drought can't be calculated yet.
   The state's water management districts also restricted residential lawn watering and commercial water use in many counties, and that will hurt things too, Bush said.