English: Wildfire season seems to have sparked early in the southern United States, especially in Florida. According to Wildfire Today, by mid-March the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and the Florida Forest Service urged Floridians to exercise caution due to significantly heightened wildfire risk throughout the state. Although rain has fallen on the state in recent days, the state is suffering from drought conditions, setting the stage for easy ignition of water-stressed vegetation. More than 700 wildfires have been reported across Florida between January 1 and March 25, 2018.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Florida on March 23. At that time, three distinct hotspots (marked in red) accompanied by plumes of gray smoke marked three actively burning fires.

The Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) listed the three fires as the Flagland, the 116th Ave SE, and the W. Boundary fires. All three fires started on March 21, with ignition listed as lightning. The Flagland Fire consumed 2,600 acres before being contained on March 25. The 116th Ave SE fire merged with another fire, the Greenway Fire and assumed that name. By March 30, it was still listed as “active” and only 70 percent contained with over 17,000 acres burned. The West Boundary Fire was more than 90 percent contained on March 30 after burning more than 2,600 acres.