Since the middle of April, counties all over Florida have been issuing fire bans. At the current moment, almost all of Florida is under this ban, excluding the panhandle and the tip of Florida.

According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, Florida has had a total of 2,163 fires since the beginning of this year. Those fires have burned more than 170,000 acres of land. Why are these fires occurring, you may ask? Well, Florida is in one of the worst drought seasons its ever had.

A drought is a period of time with unusually dry weather that lasts long enough to cause serious problems such as crop damage and/or water supply shortages. In this case, the drought is destroying not only our crops, but our wildlife as well.

If you haven't noticed already, lakes are drying up, as are rivers. At the Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, the river has dried up so quickly that you can see a pile of dead fish where the river was once located. In fact, the park has a boardwalk that you can walk on, and underneath you used to be water. Now, it's all gone.

As of May 4th, according the the Palm Beach Post, 6% of Florida has entered the "extreme drought" category. The extreme drought is located right above Lake Okeechobee, which is leading to less water going into the lake, and more water evaporating.

The state of Florida needs people to follow this ban in order to prevent any other fires from starting. Everything has a chain reaction, so if we continue having these fires, it will only lead to more destruction. We're already killing enough trees as it is by cutting them down and using them for own purposes. The earth needs to stay alive, and by following this ban, you can help make the carbon footprint of this tragedy smaller.

Hopefully the ban will be lifted by July 4th so we can participate in the firework activities that come with celebrating Independence Day. However, if it is not, please don't light your fireworks as you usually do. A fire could be started and spread rapidly.

Florida has never needed Hurricane Season more than it does now. The rainfall needs to pick up, and the fires need to be stopped. So next time you're thinking ill because it is raining, just remember that we need it now more than ever.