Wakulla County commissioners unanimously voted on April 15th to declare a state of emergency and enact a burn ban for the county.
The decision follows several months of drought and nearly 100 brush fires since September 2025. The Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners held a special meeting to enact a burn ban at the request of Wakulla County Fire Rescue.
Fire Chief Louis Lamarche said many neighboring counties have enacted burn bans over the past couple of months due to ongoing fires around the state.
County Commissioner Ralph Thomas said the ban is a preemptive step to help keep fires from getting out of hand.
"If, if a fire gets out of control when it's this dry, it's it's easy to to afford, to get away from us, and we just want to make sure that doesn't happen. You know, our team does a very good job, and they're going to stay on top of it no matter what happens. But we have had some in the past that have flared up pretty big, even when it was under conditions that are not as dry as they are now," Thomas said.
The burn ban includes bonfires, campfires, outdoor fireplaces and chimneys, cooking fires not contained in grills, and outdoor activities creating flames or sparks like fireworks and sparklers.
However, cooking food within an enclosed gas or charcoal grill, trainings conducted by Wakulla County Fire Rescue, and burn operations approved by the Florida Forest Service are exempt from the ban.
The ban will last for seven days. However, the chairman of the board has the authorization to extend the ban in seven-day increments as necessary, should conditions warrant.
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