Thanks to all the rain, Manatee’s burn ban is no more

The rain falling in the area over the past few days has done more than water neighborhood lawns for free.

After six weeks, the burn ban in Manatee County has been lifted, thanks to the generous rainfall.

Manatee County officials first enacted a burn ban on April 25.

In the past seven days, Manatee County has seen about 3 inches of precipitation, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“We can breathe after a long season,” said Patrick Mahoney, public information officer for the Myakka River District of the Florida Forest Service. “A lot of our open fires that we’ve had are quickly being closed out because of (the rain). ... Only two fires still open (in the district).”

Even the Florida Forest Service has started to allow some burning of piles such as citrus and non-residential materials, but it still is not allowing acreage burns, Mahoney said.

He noted that the long steady rains have been helpful, giving the ground time to soak up the water that has fallen.

The county recorded 3.75 inches of rain in all of May and less than an inch in March and April, according to Florida Forest Service rainfall information. In just the first six days of June, Manatee County has already collected 1.85 inches of rain.

“When we were in severe drought, we would need 15 inches of rain to get out of that and we’ve made a dent in that,” Mahoney said.

Manatee County is currently at 470 on the drought index, which estimates the dryness of the soil and duff layers and ranges from zero to 800, according to the Florida Forest Service. On May 17, the county measured at 659.

Despite the improving conditions, Mahoney warned that residents should still be careful and to be prepared.

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Thanks to all the rain, Manatee’s burn ban is no more."