2,173 acres burned, 95% contained after overnight effort
Firefighters have almost stamped out a big brush fire at Big Cypress National Preserve in Hendry County. This blaze tore through about 2,173 acres, but crews now have it 95 percent contained after working through the night.
Things got out of hand fast: when the fire was first spotted around 5 p.m., it had already burned about 400 acres. By 6:30, it had tripled in size. Part of it even crossed onto Seminole Reservation land, according to a spokesperson from the Florida Forest Service’s Caloosahatchee Forestry Center.
Teams from both Caloosahatchee and Big Cypress jumped in, using bulldozers, a helicopter, and plenty of boots on the ground to fight the flames.
Elsewhere, there were a few more fires in the region. One near Montura Ranch covered 15 acres but is now completely out. In DeSoto County, another wildfire burned through 30 acres and is 95 percent contained. And over in Charlotte County, a smaller three-acre fire is at 90 percent containment.
