Homes saved, property destroyed in 318-acre Highlands County brush fire
HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – “It’s just devastation,” said Phillip Payne.
His Lake Placid neighborhood once filled with trees and vegetation, now looks scorched.
“I got here and they had it all blocked off. I couldn’t get to the house or nothing. It was so bad they couldn’t fight the fire for awhile,” he said.
Phillip and his wife, Monalisa, could not return home for some time Tuesday night.
Officials evacuated nearly 200 people from their homes as crews worked to contain a 318-acre brush fire, dubbed the “Bluebird” fire.
The fire burned through brush and various structures, including outhouses, sheds and garages.
It destroyed the Paynes’ garage and its contents, which included two cars, a boat, a motorcycle and three four-wheelers.
“It’s by the grace of God and these hardworking men and women that saved our home. they deserve the glory and a pat on the back right now,” said Monalisa Payne.
Nearly two dozen crew members from Florida Forest Service were on the scene overnight, using tractors to plow lines in the ground to direct the flames.
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“Eventually you stop it by pinching it together then you can stop the head of the fire and that stops the forward progression,” David Grubich, with the Florida Forest Service, said.
The fire is now 85% contained, according to Grubich. Nobody was injured and all homes are still livable.
People who live in brush fire-prone areas are reminded to maintain a 30-foot “defensible” area around the home, with green grass and no clutter.
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“The conditions right now are currently so dry. The drought index in Highlands County is in the high 500s which is one of those things where a lightning strike, a blade strike on a rock mowing your lawn can start the grass on fire,” said Grubich.
Crews were working Wednesday to restore power.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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