Staff Report
NORTH PORT – The city of North Port instituted a ban on outdoor burning, effective Wednesday May 26, because of current extreme dry weather conditions, which have prompted North Port Fire Chief Scott Titus to determine that an extraordinary fire hazard now exists.
According to a news release from the city of North Port, The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) indicates that the area is 3.49 inches short of average rainfall for the 2021 calendar year.
Within the city of North Port, the Drought Index that measures moisture in the vegetation is up to 632 on the Keetch Byram Drought Index scale of 0-800.