Hebb said the area includes a lot of palmettos and scrub vegetation growing close to houses and mobile homes. With the exception of the West Frostproof fires, Hebb said, there have been no major wildfires in Polk County in about two weeks. Hebb credited public awareness of the wildfire danger and a county ban on all unauthorized outdoor burning with reducing the number of fires. But he said the danger will increase until after summer rains have begun to saturate the area. There are places where a fire ignition on a windy day could very easily be catastrophic.
Arsonists compound the problem.