Satellite data collected overnight shows heat from the Five Mile Swamp Fire well south of Interstate 10 on both sides of Garcon Point Road approaching Blackwater Bay.
(Originally published at 9 p.m. CDT May 6, 2020)
Strong winds and low relative humidity caused a wildfire in the panhandle of Florida to grow about eight times its size Wednesday. The Five Mile Swamp Fire started from an escaped prescribed fire Monday afternoon and by Wednesday afternoon had blackened approximately 2,000 acres (up from 250 acres Wednesday morning) forcing the closure of Interstate 10 south of Milton, Florida.
The fire is burning on both sides of Interstate 10 about five miles south of Milton. The Florida Forest Service (FFS) reports several structures south of I-10 have been damaged or destroyed.
On Wednesday resources working the fire included 18 tractor/plow units, 3 helicopters, and firefighters from multiple departments throughout Santa Rosa County.
Residents of Ski Lane north of I-10, and those south of I-10 and east of Avalon Boulevard have been ordered to evacuate.
About 1,100 residences are threatened by the Five Mile Swamp Fire.
The prescribed fire from which the wildfire escaped was on private land east of the former Moors golf course, east of Avalon Blvd., and north of I-10. Described as a “#GoodFire” by the Florida Forest Service in a May 4 tweet, it was expected to burn only 250 acres.
?WILDFIRE UPDATE?@FLForestService crews are in day 3 of suppression efforts on the #5MileSwampFire. Additional firefighting personnel & resources are en route to assist.
I-10 is closed from Exit 22 Avalon Blvd to Exit 31 at Hwy 87.
The catastrophe may have been an indirect effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 7,300 unused rental cars were stored in a grassy field.
As thousands of rental cars were burning on April 3 in a temporary overflow parking area at the Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) near Fort Myers, Florida the firefighters were faced with an unprecedented scenario. Should they use dozers to build a fireline through the 7,366 parked cars to create a barrier to stop the fire?
The call came in at about 4:40 p.m. Burning like a wildfire, the blaze was rapidly spreading through a grassy field, a temporary parking area for the rental cars. When the wind pushed the fire through the vehicles parked bumper to bumper in long rows, hundreds of burning cars became thousands. Dark black smoke rose in a convection column that leaned over, pushed over by the wind. A small pyrocumulus cloud formed at the top of the column, a phenomenon usually only seen on very intensely burning wildfires.
“The cars were stored in a location not ordinarily used for any specific purpose”, said Victoria B. Moreland, Director of Communications and Marketing for the airport. “The large number was due to the car rental agencies serving RSW not renting inventory during the peak season due to the current COVID-19 crisis.”
The cars were parked across the road from a gas station in a grassy field southeast of Terminal Access Road which leads to the airport. From photos, it appeared that the grass had at one time been mowed, but not low to the ground like a lawn, it was several inches high. The grass was mostly dead but was just beginning its spring green-up. The grass allowed the fire to spread easily from car to car, but since they were parked so closely together, the fuel (the cars) was continuous in most areas allowing the fire to spread by radiant and convective heat car-to-car.
Firefighters and equipment from at least 11 fire departments arrived to help suppress the fire. Four dozers from the Florida Forest Service worked on the side of the fire that burned into trees and heavier vegetation, building a fireline — scraping the ground bare so that the fire could not spread any further. Helicopters dropped water on the burning cars. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office reported that one of their Huey helicopters flown by Chief Pilot Shane Engelauf made over 80 water drops on the fire.
After I saw two photos taken at the scene showing piles of cars two or three layers deep and stacked at random angles, I began making inquiries to ask if dozers had been used to build a fireline through the parked cars in an attempt to separate the burning cars from the unburned cars, possibly sacrificing some undamaged cars in the process as they worked the big machines near the advancing flames.
Tracy W. Young, Chief of Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting at the airport told us that heavy equipment was in fact used to stop the spread of the fire.
“Tomahawk Construction and Port Authority provided heavy equipment (front end loaders) which were used to push cars and create a fire break,” Chief Young told us. “Because the fire was so large, the strategy was to create a fire line flanking the fire and in front of the fire’s head to prevent further spread. Fire Crash apparatus [trucks] and numerous other fire apparatus were used to protect the heavy equipment as they moved cars. ”
The tactic to use dozers or heavy equipment was successful, saving more than half of the cars. The firefighters worked on the fire into the night and it was out the next day.
“This fire was particularly unique as it was found in ample open space, close to thick brush,” said Fort Myers Beach Fire Department Executive Assistant Chief Ron Martin. “This open space and wind conditions served to fuel the fire, and crews (needed) to contend with a wildland fire and several thousand cars that were on fire.”
The final tally:
3,516 cars were damaged or destroyed;
3,850 were saved.
This fire, or at least the scope it it, may have been an indirect effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. With tourism and air travel brought to a near standstill the rental car agencies at the Southwest Florida International Airport suddenly found themselves with over 7,300 cars that could not be parked in their paved parking lots near the terminal. Placing them bumper-to-bumper over dead grass created an environment that made a fire, once started, difficult to access and suppress as it spread in the grass and moved from car to car.
A gender reveal party in Florida went wrong and sparked a 10-acre fire, CNN affiliate WESH reported. Firefighters were called to a home in Brevard County, Florida, last weekend after reports that a blaze was possibly ignited by fireworks, fire officials said. But when they arrived, firefighters realized some explosives had been in the mix.
“We were informed that it was caused by a gender reveal using Tannerite and a weapon,” Brevard County Fire Rescue Chief Mark Schollmeyer told WESH. Tannerite is a highly explosive substance often used as a rifle target.
The county had been under a burn ban, including outdoor activities such as campfires, bonfires and trash burning, because of the dry conditions in the region. The order comes with a fine of up to $500. It’s unclear whether anyone faced a fine.
A gender reveal party in Arizona in 2017 ignited the 46,000-acre Sawmill Fire when an off-duty Border Patrol agent shot a Tannerite explosive target. The agent pleaded guilty and was ordered to make an initial payment of $100,000, then make monthly payments after that. According to the Arizona Daily Star and the Green Valley News, he agreed in court to pay $500 a month for the next 20 years, which adds up to $120,000, for a total of $220,000. He was also sentenced to 5 years of probation and agreed to participate in a public service announcement with the U.S. Forest Service concerning the cause of the Sawmill fire.
Exploding targets consist of two ingredients that when mixed by the end user explode when shot by a high-velocity projectile. After the ingredients are combined, the compound is illegal to transport and is classified as an explosive by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Exploding targets have caused many fires since they became more popular in recent years, have been banned in some areas, and caused the death of at least one person.
Yesterday a fire at the Southwest Florida International Airport at Fort Myers, Florida destroyed 3,516 rental cars that were stored in an overflow parking area on the east side of Terminal Access Road. Firefighters on the ground were assisted by helicopters dropping water on the flames. The cars were stored in a grassy field, a fact that may have helped the fire spread. Vicki Moreland, communications director for the airport, said even though 3,516 cars burned, another 3,800 cars in the lot were saved. She said the cause of the fire is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal.
The main road leading to the terminal was closed during the fire but reopened at 11 p.m. Friday. Saturday morning, Florida Forest Service personnel returned to the scene to make sure the fire did not pick back up again, according to Melinda Avni, FFS mitigation specialist.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office reported that one of their Huey helicopters flown by Chief Pilot Shane Engelauf made over 80 water drops on the fire.
Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges are supported by TNC, USFS, and DOI
Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (WTREX) holds 12-day training sessions to help women advance their formal qualifications in wildland fire management. The goal is to enhance their understanding of fire ecology, fire effects, communications, outreach, prescribed fire policy, and planning. At least three sessions have occurred, in Florida and California.
When the U.S. fire management system was conceived in the early 1900s, women’s roles in the workforce were much different than they are now. Even today, women constitute a relatively small proportion of the workforce, filling roughly 10 percent of wildland fire positions and only 7 in 100 leadership roles. In recent years, there has been an increased effort to recruit women into fire, yet social and cultural challenges remain. New recruits often find the dominant fire management system to be dismissive of female perspectives and strengths, even as its increasing complexity requires fresh approaches and insights.
WTREX is supported by Promoting Ecosystem Resilience and Fire Adapted Communities Together, a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, and agencies of the Department of the Interior.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Paula. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
The Miami Fire Department has acquired an armored truck that can be used for incidents involving high winds, high water, and active shooters. Since we are seeing more of these types of emergencies it might be very useful.
The video lays out the details, including the body armor labeled “FIRE”.