Lightning likely cause of 18-acre fire on RSW property. Hot spots being rechecked
An 18-acre brush fire east of runways at Southwest Florida International Airport was likely set off by a lightning strike days earlier.
The fire, spotted when it blossomed into dense smoke Sunday afternoon, was 100% contained by 4:30 p.m. Sunday. A Florida Forestry Service spokesman said the complete containment didn't mean the fire was out.
Ryan Mason, a Forestry Service spokesman at the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center in Fort Myers, said brush trucks from the Lee County south strike team, Lee County Port Authority units as well as bulldozers from the Forestry Service would be at the fire site Monday morning to check for hot spots and rekindling.
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Mason said fire officials checked what he described as "the heel of the fire" Sunday and determined a lightning strike, possible a day or so earlier, was the likely starter.
The fire was spotted around 2:30 p.m. with a column of smoke rising from airport property. Airport spokeswoman Victoria Moreland said the airport's flight operations remained as normal.
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Officials at the scene in a wooded area south of Paul J. Doherty Parkway, between Daniels Parkway and Fuel Farm Road, said no structures in the wooded area affected were involved.
Moreland confirmed that a grouping of fuel tanks nearby was not threatened.
Aid included help from the U.S. Forestry Service, Bonita Springs Fire Control & Rescue District, Estero Fire Rescue Service and San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue Service.
Two years ago, a major fire at the airport led to the loss of thousands of rental cars in a field adjacent to the airport.
Forecasters predicted this year would be a busy one as a La Niña pattern is causing dry, hot, breezy conditions.
Wildfires can cause anything from a small patch of scorched grass to a fire that consumes homes and buildings and forces officials to close roads and even Interstate 75.
In March, Mason said Lee County "is by far" the driest county in the state.
Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Brush fire on RSW property contained; hot spots being checked
