Fires burn hundreds of acres in Polk as firefighters from around the state rush to help
Two firefighters suffered smoke inhalation Wednesday but were back on the job Thursday as hundreds of acres in Polk County caught fire within the past 24 hours.
Firefighters from across the state swarmed to the area hoping to gain control of the multiple blazes, according to the state Florida Forest Service. Most of the fires were in the far eastern portion of Polk County, between River Ranch and Indian Lake Estates. But others were reported in Lakeland, west of Fort Meade and north of State Road 60 near Lake Rosalie.
Local Forest Service firefighters responded with six dozers and four brush trucks, as well as two dozers and a brush truck from the Orlando District and a Task Force from Region 1, which also brought a group of three dozers and four brush trucks from North Florida, according to Todd Chlanda of the Forest Service.
Those crews battled the blazes into the night on Wednesday and early morning Thursday, he said.
“Today there will be another Task Force from north Florida that will also be on scene to assist in containment lines and mopping up,” Chlanda said via email Thursday.
Polk County Fire Rescue had units on scene also, he said. A request for addition details sent Thursday morning about the fires was not immediately available from PCFR.
Of the River Ranch area on the eastern Polk County border, Chlanda said, “There were several camps destroyed but we are unable to determine the number at this time. This will be part of the investigation.”
“We are currently still in suppression mode and will investigate the causes when the fires are contained,” he said. “Our (Agriculture) Ag Law personnel have been requested to initiate the investigation.
“We are in our dry season and this year we had periods of rain in the Spring. We have not had any wide spread significant rainfall in several weeks and the vegetation is extremely dry,” Chlanda wrote.
“It takes very little to start a fire in these conditions. We are urging everyone to use extreme caution with any type of outdoor activity that can produce a spark or flame, welding, grinding, campfires, cutting lawns, not parking in tall grass, etc.”
Polk County officials issued a burn ban on May 28 restricting most outdoor burning, including the burning of trash or yard waste, barbecue pits and the igniting of fireworks.
There was also a structure fire in Frostproof on Wednesday, according to Polk County spokesperson Mianne Nelson.
"The initial response to the Frostproof fire was delayed due to access issues with blocked roadways and a dirt road," she said. "The fire was a combination structure and brush fire located off Drummond Road and Fazzini Road."
PCFR had approximately 12 units on the scene. The fire destroyed a house and large shed and there were no reported injuries, she said.
The Pulse Point app shows PCFR responded to 150 Hwy 630 E. in Frostproof. Citing PCFR officials, the Tampa TV station WFLA reported the county responded about 3:30 p.m. to reports of a brushfire. That fire was under control just before 6 p.m., the news report said.
The PCFR Facebook page also provided further details on the fire.
The county agency was assisted by Frostproof Fire Department, Fort Meade Fire Departments and the Forest Service. Upon arrival, the first firefighters on scene “reported a heavily involved structure, a brush fire in the nearby surroundings and difficult terrain,” PCFR said.
Once the residential structure fire was under control, the Forest Service took over battling the brushfire with the aid of two PCFR brush trucks.
Tampa TV station Fox 13 also reported Wednesday on the River Ranch blazes, saying firefighters were battling a pair of brushfires that had burned hundreds of acres in the county’s southeast, including one fire that had burned about 400 acres and the other fire 200 acres.
On a River Ranch fires Facebook group, several property owners reported losing campers and other structures to the fires in video and photo uploads.
Responding to social media reports that Indian Lake Estates residents were told to evacuate, Chlanda told The Ledger, "We did not issue any evacuations last night. There are no evacuations in place now and there are no roads closed at this time." He did say about 1:30 p.m. Thursday that the Forest Service was asking for County Road 630 to be closed so fire equipment could be moved around.
The Forest Service heat map shows Divisions A and B are currently battling multiple fires across Polk County.
In the past 24 hours, Firefighters stationed in Lakeland have responded to the following fires:
Dranefield, 300 acres, 60% contained.
Drummond Road, 3 acres, 100% contained.
East Camp Fire, 250 acres, 75% contained.
Owl, 200 acres, 90% contained.
Sand Trail, 600 acres, 75% contained.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Hundreds of acres scorched in Polk County brushfires within 24 hours
