Wildfires

The size and scope of the wildfire that's been burning in the Big Cypress National Preserve for over a week took a small step back Friday with a reduction in fire area and a small increase in containment. Better mapping helped make those changes and placed the National Fire at 35,027 acres burned and at 67 percent contained by late Friday, according to a press briefing issued by the command structure of the wildfire. That was about 300 fewer acres and three percent more containment.

A pair of wildfires broke out late Sunday near Alligator Alley in the Florida Everglades. One of the fires grew to almost 25,000 acres Wednesday just south of Alligator Alley in the Big Cypress National Preserve near Ochopee. Several roadways are threatened by smoke and flames and a safety advisory has been issued.

Urgent warnings about wildfires breaking out throughout the north and northeastern portions of Florida Saturday will shift south to the Tampa Bay region Sunday, and into Southwest Florida Monday.

A wildfire burning along Lake O in Okeechobee County is at 8,600 acres, information from the Florida Forestry Service said.

2025 was the driest year in over a decade for the Sunshine State. The lack of perception has been felt hard in Southwest Florida, where current extreme drought conditions are the worst since 2001.

An active brushfire in 2,600 acres of the Big Cypress National Preserve in Hendry County is 95 percent contained today.

A drought unlike any the Sunshine State has seen for more than 20 years has been drying out portions of the state — especially Southwest Florida

A temporary burn ban is in place for the City of Punta Gorda.

In November alone, more than 1.7 million people living in counties along or near Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast were plunged back into a moderate drought. And drought often precedes wildfires.

Drought is the third-costliest natural disaster in the country, and goverment scientists just reported in an academic journal the natural disaster is poised to get worse