Florida Forest Fires

Lightning sparks brush fires

A series of brush fires broke arisen or in the area Monday afternoon, damaging a house and several cars destroyed in southern Volusia County and threatened homes and other structures in Flagler County and northern Volusia that lightning started fires in dry forests.

Just after 1:40 pm, a witness reported seeing lightning in the woods and light a fire in the Lake Harney Woods subdivision in the rural south of Volusia, said Pat Kuehn, spokesman for Volusia County.

The fire quickly grew to 10 hectares, destroying a metal shed, three vehicles, a garden tractor and a boat in 1160 Owl Circle, Kuehn said. The fire also damaged the vinyl siding on a house at 1044 Route Epiphyte, she said. Firefighters Service of Florida Forest, Volusia, Brevard and Seminole counties responded to help contain the fire and protect the surrounding houses.

This fire was one of at least 15 counties monitored in both regions, according to the Forest Service in Florida. At least seven of the fires were started by lightning on Sunday and Monday.

In the south of Flagler, near the line of Volusia, a 35-hectare fire that started Sunday afternoon spent about 100 acres Monday afternoon, fanned by stiff winds, Weller said Wood, spokesman Forest Service. The fire burned out Durrance Lane to west of Leeway Trail Ormond Beach. Forest Service crews, both Volusia and Flagler Counties, Bunnell, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach responded to help fight the fire, Weller said.

At one point the fire threatened a barn and walked to the homes in Volusia County, said spokesman Carl Laundrie Flagler County.

Firefighters also were concerned about the potential danger to a major electrical transmission corridor nearby, Weller said.

Shifting winds made firefighting challenging on Monday afternoon, Weller said.

"It was cooking pretty vigorously there for a while," he said. "It did spot across the road but the crews were right there on it."

Firefighters, however, were able to contain both the Durrance Lane fire and the Lake Harney fire before 5 p.m.

At the Millenium Stables on Durrance Lane, where 30 horses are boarded, Sarah Graff, 19, and her mother Wendy Greff, of Ormond Beach drove over to check on their horse "How-d."

"We have a trailer and a truck," Sarah Graff said as smoke rose behind her in the distance. "We wanted to make sure the horses were OK."

Laura Yang, 25, noticed smoke from her house in nearby Breakaway Trails. She headed over to the stables at about 2 p.m. to check on her horse. "I could see smoke and I wanted to come over before they closed the road," she said. All were relieved that the threat had been tamped down by the fire crews as a light drizzle began to fall. A steady parade of fire-fighting tractors on large trailers began filing down the dirt road, with no structures threatened, according to Weller.

Prescribed Burning in the Apalachicola National Forest Today ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The U.S. Forest Service is prescribed burning in the Apalachicola National Forest today.

The prescribed burn will take place at approximately 10 a.m. in an interior portion of the forest northwest of Bradwell Bay Wilderness areas, off of FH13.  The 2,000 acre burn will improve wildlife habitat, eliminate vegetation build up and reduce the threat of wildfires.

People are reminded that the smoke they may see today and tomorrow in this vicinity is not coming from a wildfire.  Motorists are cautioned to drive slowly with lights on while traveling in smoky areas. Drivers should be particularly cautious in areas where prescribed fires have taken place when it is foggy.  Morning fog can mix with smoke and decrease visibility further.  

This is one of many prescribed burns the Apalachicola National Forest is doing during the 2011 prescribed burning season. 

Individuals who are sensitive to smoke may contact the Apalachicola Zone Fire Management Officer at (850) 926-3561, ext. 6523, to be placed on a notification list for future burns. 

This prescribed burn is in burn unit 313.  See the Apalachicola’s 2011 planned burn map:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida/apalachicola/news/documents/ANF_FY11_burn.pdf

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Fire control notes

Forest fires in Florida, prepared in cooperation with the Florida Forestry Association

Fire ecology, United States and southern Canada

Popular Science

Forest and stream