Not enough rain in the forecast to help control 1,866-acre wildfire

A 30% chance of precipitation in the forecast for the Volusia County area is not expected to help firefighters much with the 1,866-acre wildfire in Tiger Bay State Forest, but thunderstorms are expected to bring lightning, and that's not a good thing.

“We are not expecting to get any rain, but we are expecting to get lightning from that storm,” said Julie Allen, spokeswoman for the Florida Forest Service Bunnell District, on Tuesday. “Lightning creates more fires”

The wildfire, dubbed the double-gate fire, continues to burn, although bulldozer teams have cut lines around 85% of it, Allen said.

The fire is located in the area of Rima Ridge and Bennett Field roads in the Tiger Bay State Forest.

Allen said strike teams with fire engines and a task force of heavy bulldozers from the panhandle have arrived to help contain the fire.

The heavy bulldozers with giant blades will continue to cut plow lines around the remaining 15% of the wildfire, Allen said.

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The more than 50 personnel battling the fire are facing drought conditions, low humidity, hot temperatures, and 17 mph winds that send embers a quarter mile ahead of the fire, Allen said.

“We really need to have the weather on our side but it’s not,” Allen said.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne forecasted a 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms after 5 p.m. Tuesday and late Tuesday night.

There is no more rain in the forecast for the remainder of the week which will see temperatures in the high 70s to mid-80s.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Large wildfire continues to burn in Tiger Bay State Forest