Crews battle more than a dozen fires across Tampa Bay area in the last several days

Drones help crews find fires deep in woods

FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Forest Service said it responded to more than a dozen wildfires across parts of the Tampa Bay area over Memorial Day Weekend. Fire officials said recent weather conditions have played a big role in recent fires.

"The majority of the fires over the weekend we attribute to lightning," said Todd Chlanda, a wildfire mitigation specialist with the Florida Forest Service's Lakeland District.

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Chlanda said they responded to 15 wildfires over the weekend.

On Saturday, Hillsborough Couny Fire Rescue responded to a 400-acre brush fire in Alafia River State Park. On Sunday, a bush fire broke out near Balm Riverview Road in Hillsborough County.

HCFR said it also responded to a brush fire that was about 10 acres in north Plant City on Monday afternoon. Fire crews said it broke out near Shoupe Road, west of SR-39.

Local perspective:

Residents in north Plant City spotted smoke near their home Monday afternoon.

"One of my neighbors reached out and was like, 'Hey, the woods are on fire behind our houses,'" Trey Larson, the owner of Florida Game Recovery, said.

Larson said his drone has a thermal camera and can track heat while flying over the area.

"As the HCFR is rolling up, I'm watching it with the drone. I'm air dropping them pins of like bigger fires on that property, and while I was there, I looked up on the horizon and saw an even bigger fire on a property down the street," Larson said.

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Larson said the drone can detect hotspots and give a bird's-eye view of the fire as it spreads.

"In a fire situation, you can look into those woods and see every spot that is on fire, whereas on the ground, looking through all the bushes, it's really tough to see," Larson said.

Dig deeper:

More agencies are looking to drone technology to help fight fires. The Florida Forest Service said it's in the beginning phase of adding drones to its program.

"We have helicopters, and we have fixed wing planes that help us locate the fire, scout the fire and also help us put out the fire," Chlanda said.

Chlanda said once their aviation units get on the scene of a fire, it's important to let their crews take over. He said the Florida Forest Service assists local agencies with a lot of these wildfires, because its equipment can help reach difficult areas some of these fires burn in.

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"Where you see the fire departments, they're not going to really take a lot of their equipment off the paved road a lot, because they're just not built for that," Chlanda said. "Our dozers are built for going out in the woods, tracking through the forest, through brush and dragging the plow behind it to cut that fire line into the soil."

What's next:

Fire officials don't expect these recent fires to be the last during peak dry season. Chlanda said June is expected to be dryer than usual.

"Our pilots are in the air every day, scanning, monitoring for any kind of smoke columns that they see," Chlanda said. "So, I got a feeling that the next week or so is probably going to be busy for all of our resources."

Fire officials also warn that as the summer storms pick up, lightning strikes can smolder for a few days before sparking up a brush fire.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kylie Jones.

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