Two firefighters die as Fla. battles 400 fires

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43476345/ns/weather/

updated 2 hours 46 minutes ago 2011-06-21T18:11:49

JASPER, Fla. — Florida's tough wildfire season has claimed the lives of two firefighters as the tinder-dry state on Tuesday battled more than 400 active blazes.

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Since May, state and local firefighters have battled more than 1,500 wildfires that have burned nearly 200,000 acres across the state, making it one of the busiest wildfire years in recent history.

Florida firefighters face an average of 31 new wildfires every day, most caused by lightning strikes.

May is typically the peak of wildfire season in Florida, but a lack of rain in June has exacerbated fire conditions.

"It's been a very active season that is extending quite a bit longer than normal," said Sterling Ivey, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "In June, we normally see the rate of fires coming down. We're not seeing that this year."

On June 3, Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order directing the state Division of Emergency Management to oversee relief efforts as fires raged throughout the state.

"The bottom line is we need rain," Ivey said. "Lots of it."

Nationally, more than 4.3 million acres have burned since January 1, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
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