CHARLOTTE COUNTY – A wildfire in a Charlotte County community ignited Saturday evening, spreading to an estimated 150 acres in the Myakka State Forest.
“It quickly spread jumped block to block and ended up running into the forest, 150 acres later we were able to contain it,” said Wildfire Mitigation Specialist, Patrick Mahoney.
The fire in the 12,000 block of DuBarry Ave destroyed two sheds and a boat. Mahoney says the high winds made the fire worse
“The lack of humidity, the lack of rain, the high winds, it just spread really rapidly,” said Mahoney.
One Charlotte County resident’s entire back yard was destroyed.
“We were pretty much right in the midst of it, it did not look good when initially broke out,” said Charlotte County resident, Kevin Galbraith.
Thankfully no one was injured and as of Sunday morning the fire was fully contained. The Florida Fire Service, along with Englewood, North port and Sarasota and Charlotte county fire units all worked together to put out the blaze.
“Thank you to the firefighters and the police that responded so quickly and professionally, it was impressive how fast they were able to control it and keep it away from our houses,” said Galbraith.
Mahoney advises everyone to clean their roof and gutters regularly, as embers can help fire spread easily
“Anything that produces heat, be extremely careful, anything that produces spark, right now it will not take much to get a fire going,” said Mahoney.
The cause of what started the fire is still under investigation.