DeLand contractor was informed of windy conditions before prescribed burn got out of hand

Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal
·2 min read
1
Daytona Beach Fire Department engines stand ready at a cul-de-sac on Blue Starfish Lane in the Latitude Margaritaville subdivision as a brushfire comes within 200 feet of homes, fire officials said, after a prescribed burn got out of control.
Daytona Beach Fire Department engines stand ready at a cul-de-sac on Blue Starfish Lane in the Latitude Margaritaville subdivision as a brushfire comes within 200 feet of homes, fire officials said, after a prescribed burn got out of control.

When a controlled burn in Daytona Beach jumped a containment line Wednesday endangering homes and billowing smoke everywhere, people wanted to know who was responsible and why the burn was conducted under such windy conditions.

Area residents vented on the Daytona Beach Fire Department's Facebook page, seeking who to pin the blame on.

Turns out it wasn't the Daytona Beach Fire Department. Nor was it the Florida Forest Service, though they did issue the permit. The burn was conducted by a private contractor called Gold Coast Land Management, LLC of DeLand according to Anthony Petellat, district manager for the Florida Forest Service Bunnell District.

And the contractor knew it was going to be a windy day.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne said Thursday that Gold Coast requested a spot forecast to learn of weather conditions in the area where the burn was scheduled.

Battling wildfires Florida issues red flag warning as firefighters battle wildfire in Volusia

The contractor was provided a forecast that detailed wind conditions and said that it would be a breezy day, according to NWS forecaster Derrick Weitlich.

On Thursday, Troy Rentz, of Gold Coast asked a News-Journal reporter to send him a list of questions so he could provide a response. The News-Journal complied but has not received a reply.

Founded in 2017, the company specializes in forestry and agriculture land management and provides in-house services to private landowners, according to its website.

Petellat said the burn permit was for 3,000 acres, but the contractor was burning a 500-acre block, with plans to move to another block, when the fire jumped the protective lines.

Daytona Beach Fire Department Deputy Chief Jessica Matthews said that the brush fire, which the weather service said was fanned by 28 mph winds, pushed flames burning brush toward the Latitude Margaritaville community around 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Smoke rises over Latitude Margaritaville as a brushfire comes within a couple hundred feet of homes in the subdivision, Daytona Beach Fire Deputy Chief Jessica Matthews said. Fire engines stood by to protect the structures if needed, Matthews said.
Smoke rises over Latitude Margaritaville as a brushfire comes within a couple hundred feet of homes in the subdivision, Daytona Beach Fire Deputy Chief Jessica Matthews said. Fire engines stood by to protect the structures if needed, Matthews said.

At a cul-de-sac at the end of Blue Starfish Lane in the Margaritaville community, the flames got within 200 feet of homes, Matthews said.

The fire department deployed fire engines and personnel, assisted by the Florida Forest Service, to protect the homes if the brush fire threatened the structures, Matthews said.

Petellat said that the fire burned an additional 21-½ acres of brush outside the prescribed burn area, including the 11 acres near the Margaritaville subdivision.

Gold Coast Land Management, LLC, was removing hazardous vegetation that was underneath the trees, Petellat said.

The Florida Forest Service deployed four bulldozers with plows to cut lines around the brush fire to bring it under control, Petellat said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida brush fire in Daytona caused by prescribed burn