Volusia, Seminole County firefighters battle brush fires amid dry weekend
The Seminole County Fire Department assisted with several brush fires this weekend.
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In Volusia County on Sunday, crews helped battle flames threatening multiple homes near Lake Harney.
The multi-agency effort worked to stop a small fire from becoming a bigger issue.
Channel 9 has accompanied Seminole County Fire Rescue crews that put out brush fires for two days in a row.
Read: Seminole County firefighters increase staff, special equipment during weekend burn ban
Sunday’s fire was just a few hot spots left over burning in someone’s yard, and with dry conditions and no rain in the forecast for the next several days, fire officials say we will likely see more of this.
Smoke filled the air as a small brush fire burned feet away from homes.
Crews were able to get it contained quickly, but fire officials say the threat remains high.
Read: Burn ban remains in effect in Seminole County
“The KBDI is the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, and that’s the U.S. Forest Services’ way to measure the moisture in the soil and debris that’s fallen,” Seminole County Fire Lt. Dave Wiliams said. “From yesterday to today, it jumped 6 points up to 525.”
A multi-agency effort between Seminole and Volusia counties and the Florida Fire Service stopped the flames from erupting further and damaging dozens of structures at risk.
The small fire started in the front yard.
3:57pm today Seminole Co. Fire Dept. assisted Volusia County w/ brush fire at 861 Gopher Slough Rd - Lake Harney Woods. Over 25 units - SCFD, Volusia Co FS, Fla Fire Service, @SeminoleSO & @VolusiaSheriff assisted in controlling 2.5 acre fire. No structural damage or injuries. pic.twitter.com/UukDVPLlbQ
— Seminole County Fire Department (SCFD) PIO Media (@scfdpio) April 3, 2023
Read: These 4 local counties have issued emergency burn bans
A homeowner who did not want to be identified shared the scary moments with Channel 9.
“It was in a matter of maybe 20 minutes that it got all the way from there, all the way close to my house,” they said. “So, it was extremely fast.”
During this time, the Seminole County Fire Department has added staff and teams deployed on woods trucks.
Read: This week, the heat will go on
The trucks allow firefighters to bring their own water supply to areas with no hydrants. The trucks are also much smaller, which helps crews squeeze into tight spaces.
“We’re gonna send a battalion chief, a woods truck, (and) a tanker as well,” Williams said. “So the quicker we can get people there when it’s smaller, the better chance we have at containing it and it doesn’t go into (the) property.”
Officials say Central Florida is in serious need of rain.
“There is no precipitation expected. As that number increases, it’s going to have that extreme fire behavior,” Williams said. “Back in ‘98, we had the firestorm of 1998,, (and) the KBDI numbers were above 700. At this point, we are not at 700, but we are rapidly approaching that.”
Seminole County fire officials said the burn ban would stay in effect indefinitely, and if you see anything burning, call 911 immediately.
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