TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Forestry Official Calls Hernando County Wildfire Suspicious

News Channel 8 photo by DAVID KRAUT

Firefighters with the Division of Forestry plowed a fire break in the Withlacoochee State Forest near State Road 50 on Monday.

ADVERTISEMENT

By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 24, 2009

Investigators are calling a wildfire that blackened a square mile in east Hernando County suspicious and say it may have been deliberately set.

The state Division of Forestry has not determined what sparked the fire that was reported Saturday morning and has yet to be fully contained.

But the cause is suspicious and the fire may have been deliberately set, said Don Ruths, spokesman for the forestry division's Withlacoochee region, which includes Hernando County.

The fire is about 80 percent contained, and forestry workers have it encircled with fire breaks. Embers are still jumping the lines in some places.

Crews will be there today to widen fire breaks and watch for areas where the fire escapes the plowed lines. Humidity levels are expected to drop in the afternoon and wind gusts up to 17 mph are forecast.

It has covered about 640 acres in the Richloam section of the Withlacoochee State Forest south of State Road 50 and east of U.S. 301. Smoke forced part of State Road 50 to close Saturday night.

No homes are threatened, though some people evacuated Saturday, when flames moved close enough to about 50 homes to cause concern. Most were back in their homes by that night.

Flames crept close to the highway Monday night, causing some concern about smoke, but the road remained open, Ruths said.

This time of year, all wildfires have a human cause, either arson or an accident such as a backyard trash fire getting out of control. Lightning is the only natural cause, and thunderstorms usually don't start forming until May.

Seventeen counties have imposed burn bans because of the wildfire danger, including Polk, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus. Hillsborough does not have a burn ban, but the county prohibits outdoor trash burning.

In addition to the Hernando fire Monday, forestry crews worked on an 18-acre fire near New Port Richey and a fire in Port Richey near Rocky Creek that covered 98 acres and is 95 percent contained.

Scattered rain on Monday brought a quiet day for forestry division crews in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties. No new fires were reported, though workers are still monitoring 16 fires in the counties with daily checks for smoke or flames.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT