As Florida’s drought

Blazes expected this week as ‘rain machine kicks into gear’

continues, the state’s commissioner of agriculture warns the danger of wildfires remains high.

Even with rain coming this week, forest service officials said the risk of wildfires remains high in Central Florida.

The wildfire danger forecast rated Seminole and Polk counties at a very high risk Monday, meaning a drought has left the region more susceptible to blazes. Orange, Osceola and Brevard counties are considered at high risk, and Lake and Volusia counties are at moderate risk.

“Even though you get some rain, the rain may not be sufficient to squelch a brush fire or a lightning-induced fire,” said Scott Kelly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne. “So there may be a rash of brush fires this week as the Florida rain machine kicks into gear.”

State Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam asked Floridians to comply with burn bans, which now cover nearly the whole state, except most of the Panhandle, the southernmost tip of the state and two counties north of Fort Myers.

“Even with rain across parts of Florida over the weekend, much of the state is experiencing drought conditions and elevated wildfire danger,” Putnam said.

As of Monday afternoon, just 3.35 inches of rain have been measured at Orlando International Airport since Jan. 1 — a sharp drop from the year-to-date average of 13.02 inches.

At this time last year, the National Weather Service had measured 18.65 inches of rainfall at the airport.

May tends to be a dry month in Florida even during years with average rainfall, Department of Agriculture officials said in a statement.

There were 122 wildfires burning across 39,144 acres statewide Monday afternoon. That included 30 fires bigger than 100 acres, according to Florida Forest Service figures.

The largest fire in Central Florida was at Triple N Ranch in Osceola County, where 1,354 acres were ablaze Monday.

Today will bring a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms to Orlando, according to the National Weather Service. The rain likely will continue Wednesday, with an 80 percent chance of precipitation, and Thursday,

with a 50 percent chance.

“The best chance [for rain] looks to be Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night,” Kelly said. “A cold front is forecast to go through the area on Thursday morning, but ahead of the front, there should be a front of showers and thunderstorms that push across the area.”

That could bring about an inch of rainfall to some areas, Kelly said.

But one rainstorm — or even a particularly rainy week — likely won’t end the drought in Florida.

“The way that it’ll probably pan out is once the wet season, the rainy wet season begins, it’ll just be the daily afternoon storms,” Kelly said. “Over time, over some weeks, with those daily storms, those scattered storms, that should gradually alleviate the drought as we head to the summer.”

As of Monday, the forecast called for a clear Memorial Day weekend with no rain expected Friday, Saturday or Sunday.