 1998 Florida wildfires | |
| Date(s) | May to July 1998[1] |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 500,000 acres |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Damage | >$300,000,000 in timber alone. [1] |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Lightning |
The 1998 Florida wildfires, sometimes referred to as the Florida Firestorm, was a wildfire event involving several thousand separate woodland and mixed urban-rural wildfires which wrought severe damage during the summer months of 1998. Wildfires sparked mainly by lightning threatened to converge into single, vast blazes, crossed natural firebreaks such as rivers and interstate highways, and demanded an unprecedented suppression response of firefighting resources from across the country. Regular activities such as Fourth of July celebrations, sporting events, tourism, and daily life were profoundly interrupted for millions of residents and visitors in the northeastern part of the state.
- ^ a b "Wildland Fires Florida 1998" (PDF). United States Fire Administration. Retrieved March 26, 2020.