Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Florida Battles Drought and Fires

Aired May 31, 2001 - 10:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: The battle against wildfires has been very difficult, in part because the state is in the middle of a devastating drought.

Here's CNN's John Zarrella with that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARGARET GERARD (ph), FLORIDA RESIDENT: ... fire district. How are you today?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): For 25 years, Margaret Gerard and her husband have run this bait and tackle store in Okeechobee, Florida on the north side of the lake that bears the same name. Margaret is an optimist.

GERARD: It will come back up. We will survive it.

ZARRELLA: But surviving, at least financially, may not be easy. A three-year long drought in Florida has dropped Lake Okeechobee to historic lows. So low, boat ramps have become inaccessible. Boats are sitting on dry land. The local pier is barely in water and the fishing has dried up.

(on camera): Right here where I'm kneeling, this is not shoreline. It is, in fact, lake bottom. And just a year ago, all of this, as far as you can see, was covered in six to eight feet of water.

(voice-over): A year ago, Okeechobee was at 16 feet at its deepest. It is just above nine feet now.

AL STEINMAN, DIRECTOR LAKE OKEECHOBEE RESTORATION PROGRAM: In the worst case scenario, we can go down to about seven feet before the next rainy season begins, and that would be, you know, potentially catastrophic in terms of water supplies for the South Florida regions.

ZARRELLA: Lake Okeechobee is the backup water supply for six million people living in South Florida. If the drought continues and underground aquifers, which are the primary water supply, have to be replenished, the lake water is the source, provided there is any.

For scientists, the low water is providing a rare opportunity. Vegetation called bulrush, which is an ideal habitat for fish, is being planted along the lake in spots that were submerged not long ago.

CHUCK HANLON, SENIOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST: We know it'll have, in the near future, an immediate positive impact on the system once this area re-floods and the fish are able to gain access back to these areas.

ZARRELLA: But re-flooding won't likely happen anytime soon. Water managers say it will take years of above average rainfall to bring the lake back up to comfortable levels. And that kind of deluge is not anywhere on the horizon.

John Zarrella, CNN, Okeechobee, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com