By Bradenton Herald (Florida)
A brush fire in Hillsborough County forced the Florida Highway Patrol to shut down more than four miles of Interstate 75 on Monday, delaying rush-hour traffic for hours from the north and south in the Tampa Bay area.
Meanwhile, blazes in Volusia and Brevard counties burned more than 8,000 acres and forced Gov. Jeb Bush to declare a state of emergency.
The more than 400-acre fire in south Hillsborough County burned Monday afternoon and evening close to the highway and heavy smoke hindered visibility. Officials advised motorists to find alternate routes around the fire as emergency fire trucks and vans clogged the roadways and helicopters buzzed overhead.
The fire forced the closure of I-75 from Big Bend Road to Gibsonton Drive, causing traffic in both directions to be diverted to U.S. 41, said Lt. Harold Frear, shift commander for the Tampa district of the Florida Highway Patrol.
Authorities reported Monday night that the fire was contained and I-75 opened but some traffic tie-ups continued late into the night, with motorists and emergency officials likening the experience to a hurricane evacuation.
The fires in Volusia and Brevard forced about 1,000 people to evacuate their homes and the closure of a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95.
In Palm Beach County, authorities said smoke drifting from nearby brush fires contributed to four collisions that killed two people and injured 20 others.
Two homes were destroyed and one other severely damaged in New Smyrna Beach, where a brush fire had consumed about 1,300 acres and 20 homes were threatened, said Timber Weller, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Forestry.
That fire was 70 percent contained, and most of the 1,000 people who were ordered to evacuate Sunday returned home Monday afternoon, he said.
“The good news is it’s raining. This area hasn’t had a significant rain in two months, so everything was bone dry,” Weller said.
But a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95 from Port Orange to Edgewater was not expected to reopen until mid-morning today.
“There are still fires burning in the median, so we haven’t been able to reopen it,” Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said.
Officials advised motorists to find alternate routes around the fires.
A 20-mile section of I-95 in Brevard County will shut down early today as a precaution, Miller said. Authorities blamed a five-vehicle collision that killed two people early Sunday on low visibility caused by smoke from smoldering brush fires blending with fog.
Authorities also closed portions of State Road 80 and U.S. 27 in western Palm Beach County for three hours Monday morning after smoke from brush fires burning in Broward County settled with fog over the roadways.
More than 2,200 wildfires have burned over 44,000 acres in Florida since Jan. 1, according to the forestry division. Officials were tracking about 50 active wildfires in the water-parched state Monday.
“The state as a whole is just extremely dry right now,” said Jim Brenner, fire management administrator for the Division of Forestry. “These fires are consuming everything. And it’s not over by any stretch of the imagination.”
Locally, the Myakka Fire District, which includes Manatee, Sarasota, Desoto, Charlotte and Hardee counties, has fared better than other counties, according to Pat Abrams, the district’s duty officer.
“If you look around, fires are popping up all around us, we’re just crossing our fingers,” Abrams said.
In the Myakka district, 201 fires have burned 2,407 acres since Jan. 1. Two of those fires took place in Hardee County on Monday, each burning about 30 acres. One occurred in a citrus grove, while the other, an unauthorized burn, took place off of Sweetwater Street, according to Abrams.
It’s been five years since the district’s seen such dry conditions, Abrams said.
As the drought index neared 600 out on a scale of 0 to 800, Abrams urged the public to hold off on burning until there’s some rain.
“Everyone should think twice about recreation fires,” Abrams said. “One spark can set something off.”
This year, the Sarasota-Bradenton area experienced its second-driest season in nearly 60 years during the March 1 to April 30 period, receiving just three-quarters of an inch of rain. In 1967, the area recorded its driest recorded rainfall, with .53 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service Web site.
The area’s rainfall levels are measured at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on North Tamiami Trail.
The normal rainfall amounts during the March through April period is 5.19 inches, well above the area’s current status, according to the NWS Web site.
The normal rainfall amount for January to April is 10.79 inches, but this year the rainfall tapped in at 8.26 inches, according to the NWS.
When humidity levels reach 35 percent for at least a four-hour period, there’s a red flag warning issued. But as of Monday the district was at 66 percent, according to Jennifer Colson, a meteorologist with the NWS.
Although Monday was not a red flag day, there are still some restrictions to follow, said Abrams.
Authorized citrus growers and land clearers are allowed one pile burn a day as long as they have heavy equipment, a water source and are supervising the fire.
In order to completely ban burning, Florida Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson must issue a declaration, according to Abrams.
Bronson announced Monday night that he planned to tour Volusia and Brevard continues this afternoon.