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Wildfires Keep Crews Hopping

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By GEOFF FOX and RAY REYES

gfox@tampatrib.com rreyes@tampatrib.com

Published: February 19, 2009

A wildfire that threatened a community in Holiday was just one of several that firefighters had to contend with Wednesday.

The 80-acre brush fire that threatened the Beacon Square community, west of U.S. 19 in Pasco County, was about 70 percent contained Wednesday evening, state Division of Forestry spokesman Don Ruth said.

Twenty-five families had to evacuate their homes, Ruth said. Two houses were slightly damaged, he said, but no injuries were reported.

By midevening, additional crews were heading about 40 miles northeast to San Antonio, where a brush fire had quickly grown from five to 100 acres near Interstate 75 and State Road 52.

The San Antonio fire was in a swampy area "in the middle of nowhere," Ruth said.

In Polk County, fire crews contained a seven-acre brush fire about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday that had forced the evacuation of 274 homes and 30 businesses in the Crystal Lake area.

In Holiday, about 50 Pasco Fire Rescue units fought the blaze along with a state Forestry helicopter and four bulldozers, which plowed a firebreak in nearby woods. Some units were to stay at the scene overnight to make sure the fire didn't flare up again and spread.

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