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Florida is under a wildfire state of emergency. Since the beginning of the year, more than 3 hundred thousand acres have burned and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, State Officials fear the worst may still be ahead.

The state capitol was shrouded in smoke on Thursday from a wildfire a hundred miles away. Inside State officials were being briefed about the worst drought Florida has seen in more than a decade. “Ninety-three percent of the state is in a drought of some sort right now,” said Forestry Director Jim Karels.

Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency, allowing the national guard to help and mobilizing resources from all state agencies. Wednesday night there were 359 active fires, but as many as 50 thousand lightening strikes overnight increased the number by mid day Thursday.

“ As of fifteen minutes ago, the number of active fires is now 422. With the drought index reaching very dangerous levels,” the Governor said.

On Wednesday the mercury hit a hundred and five here in the Capitol city breaking a record that was set in 1933. More than a hundred thousand acres are currently burning. No area of the state is immune. Without rain soon, and a lot of it, state officials will have to consider a ban on Fourth of July fireworks shows.

“If we get good moisture. Good rain fall. It allows us to catch up on a lot of these fires and do some mop up then I don’t anticipate any impact on Fourth of July festivities, but the next two weeks weather will tell the tale. We gotta have rain,” said Putnam.

Officials compare the current danger to 1998 when hundreds of homes burned and large sections of interstate highways were closed across the state