Treasure Coast Sun

St. Lucie County officials, in collaboration with the St. Lucie County Fire District, have declared a local state of emergency and imposed a county-wide burn ban effective immediately due to extremely dry conditions.

The ban encompasses all non-permitted outdoor burning activities. Agricultural burning will be allowed on a case-by-case basis as authorized by the Florida Forest Service. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) has risen above 600 in St. Lucie County over the past week. An index level between 500-549 is considered moderate; 550-649 is high; 650-699 is very high, and anything above 700 is extreme.

“We urge all of our residents to use extreme caution and report any outside burning or fireworks to 9-1-1,” said St. Lucie County Public Safety Director Ron Guerrero. “Our firefighters, along with the Florida Forest Service and Environmental Resources Lands Management staff, have been battling sporadic wildfires that have popped up in the past few weeks. Let’s not put them in harm’s way.”

During this local state of emergency, the following activities are prohibited:

- All outdoor burning of any combustible material

- Bonfires

- Campfires

- Warming fires

- Outdoor fireplaces

- Fireworks

- Cooking fires unless exclusively within a contained gas or charcoal grill

Motorists are also advised to exercise extreme caution and avoid keeping vehicles parked with the motor running or driving over dry, grassy areas.

County officials will continue to monitor the situation weekly and implement additional measures as needed until the drought index returns to satisfactory levels.