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Smoke Lingers From Overnight Hillsborough Brush Fire

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 10, 2009

A brush fire near an ammonium nitrate and fertilizer storage company has pretty much burned out at this point, with just a bit of smoldering left, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said.

There have been reports of an increase of smoke in the area near the fire at U.S. 41 and Sante Fe Road.

"It's still an active fire, but we're not actually trying to extinguish it so much as we're keeping it in check, making sure it's contained and it'll burn itself out," Yeakley said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, but it didn't appear suspicious, he said.

Firefighters from several departments controlled the brush fire Monday night. Authorities were concerned it threatened several natural gas and ammonia pipelines, but have since been told by the companies' owners that the lines are inactive, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Capt. Bruce Delk said Monday.

The fire is a couple miles north of Gibsonton and west of U.S. 41.

Chain link fences and railroad tracks initially made it difficult for fire crews to gain access to the fire, Delk said.

Nearby was a storage facility for Kinder Morgan, an energy transportation and energy company that owns pipelines across the country. Its facility off U.S. 41 is used for storing ammonium nitrate and fertilizer, company spokeswoman Emily Thompson said.

Flames have not reached the warehouses and no Kinder Morgan property has been damaged, Thompson said.

The first call about the fire came in at about 9 p.m. Monday, when crews witnessed a line of flames at least 2,000 feet long moving northwest through the area. At 11 p.m., Delk said the fire was under control.

No one was hurt.

Information from Tribune archives was used in this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691.

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