Recent hard freezes, lack of rain and gusty winds have dried out Alachua County to the point of creating fire risks.
The Alachua County Commission and Chief Will May Jr., the director of Alachua County Emergency Services, issued a burn ban that started Friday for the county.
The county-wide burn ban prohibits all outdoor fire hazards such as firecrackers, sparklers and burning garbage, said Chief Harry Collins of the Alachua County Fire Rescue.
Fires used for outdoor cooking are permissible, but Collins said he encourages all residents to keep an eye on loose coals.
"It is very easy with the breezy weather to have a simple fire get away from you," Collins said.
Agricultural burning is allowed with a permit from the Florida Division of Forestry.
Krista Ott, Gainesville Fire Rescue spokeswoman, said the ban was issued to raise public awareness of weather conditions that are ideal for wildfires.
Ott said enacting a ban also depends on the burn ban decisions of neighboring counties.
Collins could not speak for nearby counties, but he said Alachua County was trying to encourage its citizens to be careful in order to avoid incidents like the 7,100 acres that were scorched in 1998.
He said the ban will be aggressively enforced, and the county has the power to write tickets.
An unauthorized fire is considered a second-degree misdemeanor resulting in 60 days in jail or a $500 fine.
Collins said the ban will last as long as the current weather conditions do.
The outbreak of wildfires in other regions of Florida is a good indicator of what would happen if Alachua County didn't have a burn ban, Collins added.
