New wildfires in Florida have sent residents fleeing their homes and closed roadways to traffic.
The Sunshine State is forecast to experience a busier-than-average wildfire season this spring.
Earlier this month, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and the Florida Forest Service warned Floridians that they needed to be ready for a potentially busy wildfire season after the National Interagency Fire Center predicted an above-average season.
Florida’s peak wildfire impacts usually occur from April through June. However, since January, more than 1,000 wildfires in the Sunshine State have burned 51,000 acres.
In March, fire crews in Miami-Dade battled several large wildfires that threatened homes, prompting evacuations.
Last year’s busy hurricane season, with several major hurricane landfalls in Florida, is contributing to the increasing fire danger because of the abundant debris across the state.