Four homes destroyed, five damaged during 15-acre wildfire in Sharpes
SHARPES — Four homes were destroyed and five others were damaged Friday afternoon in a wildfire that blazed through a residential area of Sharpes, causing about 50 homes to be evacuated.
No residents reported injuries, but a Brevard County Fire Rescue firefighter was transported to a local hospital with heat exhaustion.
The 15-acre fire, dubbed the Persimmons Fire by the Florida Forest Service, was 100% contained as of 6 p.m. Friday. The blaze spanned from Sharpes to the border of Port St. John.
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About 50 mobile homes along Broadway Boulevard, MacArthur Circle and Robyn Street were evacuated, according to Don Walker, Brevard Emergency Management spokesman.
Brevard County Fire Rescue and Florida Forest Service personnel responded to the fire at about 12:53 p.m. Friday at U.S. 1 and Camp Road in Sharpes, Walker said. They continued working early into the evening on small spot fires and requested Florida Highway Patrol put smoke signs on Camp Road and Broadway Boulevard.
Initially, Walker estimated five homes had been destroyed, though Saturday he said only four had been completely burned down. An additional five were damaged during the fire.
"We'll have the Red Cross out here later to talk to those folks and make sure they have a place to go this evening," he said.
He did not know the cause of the fire.
Jack West, an Akorn Street resident, watched the fire accelerate and spread toward his home.
"You could see back there where there was a big plume of smoke," West said. "Next thing you know, things started flying and embers started flying and things started catching on fire."
He estimated he spent about four hours outside his home, keeping a constant stream of water on his lawn to try to keep it from catching fire as he watched houses around him catch fire.
"In the beginning, it was dry, and embers would come by — these big, giant chunks. Everything that they hit caught fire," he said.
He packed essentials in his truck but decided to stay put to try to fight the spot fires on his and his neighbors' properties.
During the worst of the blaze, he estimated the fire stretched about 40 feet above the tree line near the houses.
"It was this one big wall of fire," he said.
More than a dozen units from the Cocoa and Titusville fire departments joined the firefighting effort. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office gave additional support on the ground directing traffic, as well as air support, dumping water.
Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida fire: Four homes destroyed, five damaged in Brevard wildfire
