Lightning likely caused 43-acre brush fire at Pinellas County nature preserve, firefighters say

EAST LAKE, Fla. - Mother Nature may be to blame for a Pinellas County brush fire that could be seen for miles on Sunday afternoon. 

Multiple agencies battled a blaze that consumed 43 acres of a nature preserve near East Lake. 

"This morning my son came running in, and he’s like, ‘There’s ash falling from the sky’, and we’re like, ‘Oh come on, what are you talking about,’" shared Dawn Grifone, a resident who lives nearby.

43-acres burned in a preserve near East Lake on Sunday. 

Shortly afterward, Grifone heard sirens coming from firetrucks. 

"It was about ten minutes after that, the firefighters were all here. Thank God for the firefighters, that they know what’s going on and they’re here right away," Grifone said.

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Firefighters were called out to the scene around 1 p.m., and it took crews about three hours to contain the fire to 43 acres. The Department of Forestry used dozers to build a line around the fire to prevent flames from jumping.

Emergency vehicle responds to East Lake fire. 

"It’s the preserve, so it’s big," Grifone explained.  "There’s trees. There’s brush. All of that around. So, if it’s really dry and really hot out, I would imagine it just takes a little bit of something to get something started," Grifone said.

It’s unclear as to what exactly started the fire, but crews say it is really dry out there right now, and with the recent storms, the fire is likely from a lightning strike.