Containment Increases at Florida Brush Fire

Collier County fire is at least 70 percent contained

 

ERIC STAATS, Naples Daily News

A 7,500-acre brush fire that has been burning in Collier County for nearly a week was 70 percent contained Saturday morning, up from about 65 percent contained, the Florida Forest Service reported.

About 150 federal, state and local firefighters are using bulldozers, brush trucks and aircraft to dig fire lines and battle the blaze in the Picayune Strand State Forest east of Naples and south of the Alligator Alley stretch of Interstate 75.

Four rural homes were burned last week in the fire, which filled the sky over Collier with thick smoke. Nobody was hurt. The fire prompted road closures and evacuations of Club Naples RV Resort, Panther’s Walk RV Resort and along Benfield Road and Newman Drive. Residents since have been allowed to return home.

See also  Alternative Treatments Help Animals Burned in California Wildfires

Officials said the brush fire was human-caused but not necessarily arson and is still under investigation.

Firefighters worked overnight to monitor the fire and extinguish hot spots, keep the fire from spreading and focus on suppression around homes, the Forest Service reported.

Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam toured the fire damage Friday. Scott lauded what he called a “team effort” to fight the fire and warned residents to prepare for a busy wildfire season.

Copyright © 2017 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

Topics

Subscribe to Our Monthly Newsletter

Stay in the loop with our wildland newsletter.

Collier County fire is at least 70 percent contained   ERIC STAATS, Naples Daily News A 7,500-acre brush fire that has been burning in Collier County for nearly a week was 70 percent contained Saturday morning, up from about 65 percent contained, the Florida Forest Service reported. About 150 federal, state and local firefighters are […]

Get The Wildland Firefighter Newsletter

Related Articles

Dealing With The Insanity

Dealing With The Insanity

Dealing With The Insanity If you’re a federal wildland firefighter, you must feel like you’re getting whiplash from all the news coming from the politicians and bureaucrats in D.C. We were all excited awhile back when the temporary pay increase became permanent. If...

OR Governor Declares Emergency for Alder Springs Fire

OR Governor Declares Emergency for Alder Springs Fire

Kimberly Cortez oregonlive.com (TNS) Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act on Monday for a wildfire burning in Jefferson County. This is the second time Kotek has invoked the act this fire season. The first time was the Rowena fire, which has burned...