Crews battle 60-acre brush fire in Pasco County, work to protect nearby mobile homes

HUDSON, Fla. - The extremely dry weather continues to help fuel wildfires around Florida.

Firefighters worked nearly all day Tuesday to put out a fire that engulfed 60 acres of the Black Rail Trail at Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park in Pasco County.

"We have an initial attack," Withlacoochee Wildfire Mitigation Specialist Lela Braunsch said. "We have other folks on the backside of it looking for spots, and we also had Pasco Fire on the fire lines protecting, doing structure protection also."

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Braunsch says Pasco County Fire Rescue, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Forestry Service crews and federal crews helped fight the fire.

Crews worked to protect dozens of mobile homes that were feet away from the flames. Neighbors watched the flames through the brush from their yards Tuesday.

"When the helicopter went by, you couldn’t even see it, because the smoke was so thick," Lyn Hickok said.

As of Tuesday night, Withlacoochee Forestry Center officials said the fire was 80% contained across the 60 acres. County, state and federal crews ran water drops and holding containment lines.

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Red fire retardment was dropped down into the hard-to-reach areas of the state park to keep the fire from spreading. Crews said a lot of the area deep in the park was marshy and hard for crews to get to on the ground.

Braunsch says Pasco County Fire Rescue held containment lines around the fire to hold the flames back from a mobile home park just feet away.

This fire is the latest of what crews say has been a constant stream of wildfires sparking around the state.

"Most folks feel or think that, because we got a little bit of water, that we are in the safe zone," Braunsch said. "We are not. We have not gotten near enough rain."

Burn bans are in effect in counties around Florida, including Pasco County. Braunsch says we are in for a busy fire season ahead.

"We could have a storm and a lightning strike could happen, and that will create just a little spark and the next thing you know, there is your wildfire," Braunsch said.

Crews are expected out at the state park first thing Wednesday morning to continue mop up efforts. They’re expected to stay for the next several days to monitor the situation and make sure nothing sparks back up.