LAKE PLACID — Florida Division of Forestry investigators now know what caused the wildfire in the Leisure Lakes community, but they're not releasing names or addresses yet. ...more

February 14, 2008

LAKE PLACID — About 400 acres of brushy, forested land burned Monday and Tuesday, but no houses, no barns, no businesses were damaged. Exactly how does that happen, when hundreds of structures are threatened? ...more

February 14, 2008

LAKE PLACID — As firefighters battled flames Monday and Tuesday, they kept talking about defensible space. That's a minimum 30-foot no-vegetation zone around houses, barns, outbuildings and other possessions. Two hundred feet is more desirable. ...more

February 14, 2008

Jimmy Branca doesn't know exactly what saved his life: his Chevy truck, a safety device on the powerline up above, or maybe God. ...more

February 13, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Tuesday morning, bright and early, Florida Division of Forestry crews were out with bulldozers, pushing down brush and small trees that could cause future blazes. ...more

February 12, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Residents lined roads in the Leisure Lakes area watching smoke cloud the sky as the first major brush fire of the year threatened about 100 acres and 80 homes. ...more

February 11, 2008

LAKE PLACID – Residents in between 80 to 90 homes on or near Henscratch Road have been asked to voluntarily evacuate their houses as firefighters from four local fire departments and one state agency battle a 100-acre blaze. ...more

February 11, 2008

AVON PARK — A smoke detector alerted an Avon Park family to a detached garage fire Wednesday night at 300 N. Lake Ave., in Avon Park. The fire was ruled accidental and electrical in origin, according to State Fire Marshal Investigator Brandon Ball. ...more

January 4, 2008