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Brush fire dangers
Fire crews were working Tuesday afternoon to put out hot spots and smoke from a nearly 60-acre fire in North Port. FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon reports.
NORTH PORT, Fla. - North Port fire crews continued to work Tuesday afternoon, putting out hot spots and smoke that remained from a nearly 60-acre brush fire that burned right next to I-75.
The blaze, which sparked Monday afternoon, caused some lane closures as crews worked to extinguish it. Crews are working to figure out what sparked the fire, but they're reminding residents that a burn ban is in place.
That goes for all of Sarasota, Manatee, Polk, Citrus and Hillsborough counties.
Fire officials said this year's conditions could keep them very busy.
Local perspective:
Smoke continued to smolder as crews put out hot spots off of Yorkshire Street in North Port on Tuesday.
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"We are out looking for any of the stumps that are burning and making sure we put them out as well as any plow line," said North Port Fire Rescue's Deputy Fire Chief Scott Lane.
A four to five-acre fire started in the area on Monday afternoon, but it quickly grew to about 60 acres.
"You can see here all the dry brush. All the sparks would fly, we’d call them spot fires. They’d start across the street or another block because of the wind conditions yesterday," said Lane.
Fire crews from the Venice Fire Department, Nokomis Fire Department, Englewood Fire Department, the Florida Forest Service and Sarasota and Charlotte counties responded.
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Why you should care:
Lane said with the lack of rain and recent frosts, conditions are extreme.
"The signs are everywhere. If you look at the grass, how dry it is when you walk on grass, and it cracks under your feet, not realizing how dry it is. So any spark from a cigarette or a catalytic converter from a car that pulls over on the side of the road, spark from a motorcycle, anything like that can cause a fire," he said.
North Port has been under a burn ban since late October, but despite the ban being in place, Lane said burns are still happening.
"With these current frosts that we had, a lack of rainfall, it’s setting up to be a severe season if people don’t adhere to the burn ban as well as being very diligent about what they’re doing," he said.
That goes for all areas in a burn ban. The Parrish Fire District responded to a fire that was sparked after an ember flew out of a barrel drum.
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Lane is urging residents to think of not only themselves, but their neighbors and crews responding.
"The conditions are setting up to be one of the worst years we’ve had locally here in a while," he said.
What you can do:
If you live in an area with a lot of brush or vegetation, Lane said you should make sure your roof and gutters are clear. You should also remove any debris or dead plants near your house, which could become fuel for a fire.
The Source: Information was gathered by FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon through North Port Fire Rescue.