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Firefighters Contain 150-Acre Brush Fire In Ruskin

News Channel 8 photo by ANTHONY ALLRED

Before it grew Sunday, the brush fire in Ruskin was the size of a city block.

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 15, 2009

Updated: 03/16/2009 12:34 am

Brush fires in Ruskin and Haines City kept Tampa Bay area firefighters busy on Sunday.

A blaze in Ruskin that grew to 150 acres was contained by 10 p.m., Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Capt. Bruce Delk said.

The state's Department of Forestry contained the blaze that started at 14th Avenue SE and 15th Street SE by using tractors to make dig lines, Delk said.

The brush fire forced the mandatory evacuation of about 10 homes at a nearby mobile home park. The evacuation was lifted at 7 p.m.

Several abandoned homes used by migrant workers were in the path of the blaze, Delk said. At least one of the abandoned houses was damaged.

There have been no injuries to residents or firefighters.

Two helicopters from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office assisted ground crews. The helicopters made at least 25 passes over the blaze, dumping about 1,000 gallons of water with each pass, Delk said.

More than 30 firefighters responded when the fire was first reported at 3:39 p.m. The brush fire started as two separate blazes that merged into one, Delk said.

Forestry officials are investigating the cause of the brush fire.

In Haines City, crews escaped harm when several rounds of ammunition in a burning mobile home were going off when they arrived on the scene.

The 10-acre brush fire in the 5400 block of Polk City Road destroyed that mobile home and threatened several others. Crews from Polk County Fire Rescue and the city's fire department contained the fire, Polk County public safety spokeswoman Heather Smith said in a written statement.

Forestry officials gouged out dig lines around the blaze to ensure the brush fire doesn't spread, Smith said.

No evacuations were ordered for the Haines City area.

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