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Fires have been blazing out west in recent months, but they're practically non-existent around North Central Florida. Ocala forest ranger, Michael Barr, says don't be fooled. The fire danger will only go up as the seasons change. Barr says the drier winter conditions and dead grasses provide good buring conditions. And though the heavy rains this year have prevented fires so far, Barr notes the drought index is still high at around 430. Barr says a good drought index is 100 or less and the worst is 500. The drought index measures how far down you must dig to hit moisture, so an index of 500 signifies 5 inches. Despite the mid-400 index, the Division of Forestry is predicting slow fire seasons for the next few years because of higher than average rainfall.