How Wednesday’s wind keeps the wildfire risk high

The risk of wildfires in Lee and Charlotte Counties is “very high” on Wednesday according to the latest data released by the Florida Forest Service.  

Forecast fire risk is assessed by looking at several forecast factors including how much moisture is in the soil, how much rain has fallen over the past several days, how much humidity is in the air and how strong the winds are expected to be.  

The role of the wind will be of particular importance on Wednesday. That’s because the winds are expected to be stronger tomorrow than they were on Monday and Tuesday.  Strong winds make it easy for fires to spread by pushing smoke and flames toward areas that haven’t yet burned, offering the fire fuel to grow.  

The risk of wildfire is unlikely to die down anytime soon. Our region’s 7-day outlook includes rain prospects trending less than 20% through the upcoming weekend as noticeable east winds persist. Though the relative humidity values will fluctuate day-by-day they will remain generally low keeping the wildfire threat in place.  

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