PASCO COUNTY — The drought conditions around the Bay Area have kept fire crews busy.
Pasco Fire Rescue deputy chief Shawn Whitehead says the situation has been as bad as it has been in over a decade.
“We had a very dry winter, everybody knows that. Super dry spring, and we are just hoping for that rainy season to come,” said Whitehead.
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There have been hundreds of fires, perhaps the most serious of which threatened homes in Wesley Chapel last week.
“When that fire comes there’s no real fire breaks and it comes right up on those houses. And we just have to do a real good job of stopping that fire before it reaches those houses so we don’t lose any houses,” said Whitehead.
Keith Mousel, manager with the Withlacoochee Forestry Center, says the rain over the weekend has improved the drought index in some areas, but it remains high to the south of Tampa.
“Pray for some consistent rain showers to start developing, and we’ll be good to go,” Mousel said.
The US Drought Monitor shows most of the Bay Area in a severe drought, but some places in red are in an extreme drought.
Mousel says fighting fires during drought conditions takes longer because simply putting them out isn’t enough.
“We are having to sit on fires for a long time. Multiple fires a day. Stretching our resources pretty good for locally,” said Mousel.
“Obviously we got a lot of rain this weekend that’s going to help. It’s really going to help a lot. But the sun is going to come out and it’s going to dry everything out fast and we are going to be right back chasing brush fires,” said Whitehead.
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