Arson is bad....mmmkay

Florida Agriculture officials are asking Floridians to be on the lookout for woods fires, especially suspicious ones.

The state is trying to draw attention to the crime of arson not just because this is arson awareness week, but also because right now most area are so dry, even the smallest spark has the potential to ignite a catastrophic wildfire.

Woods arson costs Florida taxpayers millions of dollars each year.

Arsonists have already caused more than 20 percent of all Florida wildfires since January, resulting in 5,000 acres burned.

At this rate, Florida could potentially have more than 800 wildfires caused by arson on up to 15,000 acres this year, doubling the number of arson wildfires in the state from last year.

Florida’s continuing drought also puts the state at high to extreme risk of wildfire danger.

To date, nearly 1700 fires have burned almost 73 thousand acres in Florida.

There is an Arson Alert Hotline where you can report suspicious wildfire activity.

The number is 1-800-342-5869.

Callers can remain anonymous and information about wildland arson could result in a reward up to $5,000.

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