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Drought 2026: Where Do Things Stand?

Rains Starting To Help...

    Dousing rains in the area over the weekend improved drought conditions, though as of press deadline on Tuesday Lake County remained on a burn ban.
    Over an inch of rain fell over several days in the past week, lowering Lake County’s Keetch Byram Drought Index number to 420 on the KBDI spectrum of 0-800.  Historically, Lake County engages a burn ban when its index number - which denotes soil moisture levels - rises to 500.  Burn bans are generally lifted when the number falls below 500 for at least five days in a row.
    Lake County’s number took a substantial fall after the rainy spell, dropping from nearly 600.  On Monday, however, nearly 30 percent of the county registered at 500 or above, with a maximum reading of a parched 635.  In 1% of the county, the number was as low as 179. 
    On Monday, 59% of the county was in the 300-500 range, indicating that while conditions have improved, the county remains at some fire risk ahead of the traditional start of the rainy season in early June.
    


North Lake Wildfires...

    There were at least four wildfires considered active in North Lake County early this week.  The largest, an 800-acre fire east of the Alexander Springs area and north of Lake Kathryn, was considered just 10% contained on Tuesday.  The fire was first reported late last week, with nearly 50 responders fighting the fire so far. 
    On Monday night, The U.S. Forest Service reported efforts to bring the fire under control continued, including the use of tactical firing operations along the north side of the fire’s perimeter.  The Forest Service is known to start ‘back fires’ in certain situations to rob fires of fuel to grow beyond certain lines.  The Forest Service said smoke may be visible in the area while the fire continues, and drivers if driving in the area.
    Additionally, three small fires were reported in the past week in the Pittman area.  All three fires occurred near SR 19 north of the Lake Dorr area.  Two were along SR 19 and a third was further west, in an area west of the CR 445 intersection.  The Pittman fires were individually listed as less than one acre each.
    The Pittman fires came at a time when the area was experiencing high lightning activity.  The U.S. Forest Service reported that four fires in all were sparked during the event, which was marked by more than 100 lightning strikes on Saturday.