Levy County declares 7-day local emergency, imposes countywide burn ban amid drought

The Levy County Board of County Commissioners declared a local state of emergency and imposed a countywide burn ban at a special meeting on Feb. 12, 2026, saying drought indicators and low humidity have heightened wildfire risk.

County Manager Mary Ellen Harper read Resolution No. 2026-5, which states the emergency is “due to drought conditions” and imposes a ban on outdoor burning countywide, including yard waste, bonfires, campfires, outdoor fireplaces and fireworks. Harper told the board the declaration is effective immediately upon adoption and will remain in effect for seven days; it may be extended in seven-day increments by proclamation of the chair or vice chair and later ratified at a regular meeting.

The resolution lists exemptions that remain allowed during the emergency: cooking on enclosed grills attended by an adult, agricultural and silvicultural burns that have a valid state open-burn authorization, permitted municipal or county fireworks displays with suppression measures, emergency flare discharges on navigable waters, and firefighter training conducted by government agencies.

“During the local state of emergency, the following activities are prohibited in all of Levy County, Florida,” Harper read while presenting the resolution. The resolution also cites county ordinance provisions and Florida statutes and states that violations may constitute a second-degree misdemeanor and that violators may be required to reimburse the county and responding agencies for suppression costs.

Commissioner Desiree Mills moved to adopt the resolution; a commissioner seconded and, after a voice vote, the chair declared, “Motion passes.” The transcript does not record a numerical roll-call tally. A local journalist asked why the initial declaration is for seven days; Harper and other staff said the seven-day interval is set by state statute and that the short interval ensures the county reassesses conditions regularly.

Public safety staff and the county’s public-safety chief told commissioners they had worked with the Florida Forest Service on the ban’s language and emphasized that permitted, inspected agricultural burns typically are not the source of large wildfire incidents; instead, officials said, unpermitted yard or debris burning often leads to escapes. The public-safety chief noted that low relative humidity—forecast in the mid-30s the next day—and frost-cured fuels can allow an ember to “turn into a large fire relatively fast.”

When asked to comment, the sheriff (present at the meeting) said he would be prepared to enforce the ban and help get notice out to residents. The chair closed public comment and adjourned the special meeting after the board approved the resolution.

What happens next: The declaration is effective immediately for seven days; if conditions warrant, the chair may issue a proclamation extending the emergency for another seven days and the board will ratify extensions at its next regular meeting.