Florida firefighters contain series of wildfires

Ray Delfa Jr. looks at the remains of his home Friday in North Port, Florida

SARASOTA, Florida (CNN) -- After four days of battling wildfires that have consumed nearly 30,000 acres in the state, firefighters contained all the current blazes Saturday despite several flareups.

"Some idiot keeps coming back and resetting the fires," said Dave Pierson, a spokesman with the Myakka River District Forestry Division.

Five flareups had to be put out in the Snow Drop fire in Charlotte County that has burned 1,350 acres, he said.

In addition, two flareups were doused in the Ranger Stadium fire that had destroyed 1,400 acres Saturday. It was burning in a marshy area behind the spring training home of the Texas Rangers baseball team, and was the result of several smaller blazes that merged into one.

At least some of the wildfires were the result of suspected arson, and police continued their search Saturday for those responsible.

Sarasota and Charlotte Counties, both along Florida's southwest coast, were battling four fires Saturday, burning a total of 7,400 acres.

Of biggest concern to fire officials was the Carlton Reserve fire burning in a wildlife area in Sarasota County, said Paul Palmiotto with the Division of Forestry in Tallahassee. It measured 4,500 acres Saturday.

The blaze was the result of a controlled burn that grew out of hand Tuesday. It has already damaged three houses and several outbuildings.

Hundreds of local and state firefighters managed to get the upper hand on the other three fires, all of which were 100 percent contained Saturday. Palmiotto could not estimate the number of people battling the flames, saying only it was a "sizeable presence" at each blaze.

Their equipment included bulldozers, air tankers, brush trucks, and helicopters, he said.

The 150-acre Price-Yorkshire fire, which began Friday, was listed as "suspicious" because officials could find no other factors contributing to the fire.

Several police and fire agencies from the two counties were involved in the arson investigation. Mike Mulligan with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Department said authorities had "no hard data" to release yet.

"Right now the entire central and southern part of the state is extremely dry," said Palmiotto. "Each day that passes without rain, it's continuing to dry out."

No rain was forecast for the area until Tuesday, when intermittent thunderstorms were expected to provide minimal relief, meteorologists said. Temperatures were expected to hang in the mid- to upper-80s.

"What they need is a really good widespread, soaking rain, but that's not really in the forecast," said Andrew Humphrey, contributing meteorologist for CNN.

Winds were expected to remain moderate, between 10 and 15 mph, he said.

"The lower the winds, the better," said Palmiotto. "When they do get up into the teens, and gusting beyond that ... we do have some control problems."

Elsewhere, Florida's largest blaze was 90 percent contained. The 16,500-acre Park fire, burning near the Lake Kissimmee State Park, was not threatening any residential areas, Palmiotto said.

The 2,000-acre Walter Hunter fire, burning in Hillsborough County between Tampa and Orlando, was 100 percent contained Saturday, he said.

"The 'contained' doesn't mean it's controlled," Palmiotto emphasized.

Collier County was fighting two fires, burning a total of 1,900 acres. The 1,500-acre Catherine Island fire was 70 percent contained Saturday, while smaller Patterson fire, at 400 acres, was 60 percent contained.

"We're far from out of the woods," Palmiotto acknowledged. Florida, like much of the South, is entering its fourth summer of drought in a row.

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Florida Division of Forestry
Florida's Forest Protection Bureau

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