charles_bronson_web_fc.jpgTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ Florida's agriculture commissioner is warning that a lack of tropical storms is contributing to dry condition ripe for wildfires in the months ahead.

 

Commissioner Charles Bronson said Friday that a second factor is abnormally cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, a condition known as "La Nina.''

It affects weather patterns across North America. For Florida it'll will mean a warmer, drier winter.

Bronson said the net result is "a tough wildfire season ahead.''

He said the Florida Division of Forestry has tried to minimize the potential hazard with a record level of controlled burns on state and private timberlands in the last fiscal year.

They reduce brush, fallen limbs and other potential wildfire fuel.