Collier County agencies unite to fight wildfire threats this dry season

Southwest Florida is gearing up for wildfire season as experts collaborate to enhance firefighter efforts.

The 22nd Annual Wildfire Round-Up in Collier County brought together more than 40 agencies to prepare for the dry season.

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Christopher Fisher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami-South Florida, emphasized the area’s ongoing drought conditions.

“Despite the rain that we got a couple of days ago, while it was welcome, it wasn’t enough,” said Fisher.

Collier County’s emergency management is actively updating its approach to meet new challenges.

“We have new people, we have new roads, we have new conditions, we have more development,” said Dan Summers, director of emergency management for Collier County.

Summers highlighted the importance of learning from California’s wildfire experiences.

“We’re all very much in tune with what happened in California and other parts of the West with dramatic wildfire. We’re certainly seeing some drying conditions come up here in southwest Florida. So this is an opportunity in a non-emergency environment to say, what equipment do you have this year that you didn’t have last year?” said Summers.

A key goal of the round-up was to unify the agencies for better coordination during emergencies.

“And that’s what we did today, is make sure that during the times of an emergency, we know each other already,” Summers said.

When facing fire hotspots like Golden Gate Estates, agencies aim to work together efficiently to extinguish fires and prevent their spread.

“But we have drying conditions. We have more fuel on the floor from previous hurricanes. And if we get into some of these windy conditions, we have a major firefight on our hands,” said Summers.

Fisher warned that the dry conditions are expected to persist.

“Unfortunately, the trend looks like dry and warm conditions will continue over the next several months,” Fisher said.

In response to rising drought conditions, Collier County has issued an indefinite burn ban to reduce the risk of wildfires.