Lee County has enacted a burn ban for unincorporated Lee County and municipalities effective immediately due to increasingly dry conditions throughout Southwest Florida. The county’s ordinance bans “outdoor burning ignition sources,” including campfires, bonfires and trash burning. Grills for food are not included.

For the county to enact a burn ban, certain conditions must be met, including a Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) that reached or exceeds a value of 600. Lee’s index value was a mean average of 637 out of 800 Monday afternoon. The county also coordinates with the Lee County Fire Chiefs’ Association and the Florida Forest Service, both of which support the ban.