Fort Myers, FL Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

Florida wildfire risk in Lee County is driven by pine flatwoods, saw palmetto understory, and seasonal drought cycles (typically February-May before the rainy season). The Florida Forest Service (FFS) Caloosahatchee Forestry Center, headquartered in Punta Gorda, is the wildfire AHJ for Lee, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, and Collier counties; it administers Florida Administrative Code Chapter 5I-2 (Open Burning), issues authorizations for pile and broadcast burns, and monitors the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) - a 0-800 soil-moisture-deficit index. The City of Fort Myers itself lies along the Caloosahatchee River and is heavily developed urban/suburban tissue; the city is not within an FFS-mapped high-risk Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) zone, but unincorporated Lee County contains extensive WUI areas. Historical wildfires of note: the 2006 Caloosahatchee Fire Complex, fueled by downed timber from 2004 Hurricane Charley, burned more than 2,000 acres in Lee County, destroyed 15 homes, and caused more than $2 million in fire-protection costs and damage. The 1998 Florida Wildfires affected much of central Florida and prompted statewide WUI program development. Lee County's Emergency Management division publishes a Wildfires hazard page and recommends defensible space, Firewise USA practices, and FFS-recommended landscaping for properties adjoining wildland areas. In 2024 Lee County selected SWCA Environmental Consultants to develop the county's first Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Within City of Fort Myers limits, the practical wildfire-related controls are: (1) the 12-inch lot-maintenance vegetation limit enforced by Code Compliance, (2) the FFPC recreational-fire and bonfire rules administered by the Fort Myers Fire Department under Chapter 40 of the City Code, and (3) Lee County Ordinance 18-09 emergency burn bans when KBDI reaches 600. The city has not adopted the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC).