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Highlands Today

Brush Fire Burns 25 Acres In Avon Park

ABANDONED TRAILER DESTROYED

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today
and Joe  Seelig | Highlands Today

Published: May 12, 2008

Updated: 05/12/2008 03:53 pm

AVON PARK — A fire that destroyed an isolated mobile home late Monday morning spread to the surrounding yard, then growing into a wildfire that had firefighters on alert through the afternoon, according to firefighters on scene.

No injuries were reported from the Avon Park Estates mobile home on West Starr Road, which was believed to be abandoned. However, the mobile home was reduced to its cinder blocks and a floor that resembled a nearly cleared, blackened platform.

Numerous engines from Highlands Lakes and the West Sebring volunteer fire departments and the Avon Park Fire Department, and Florida Division of Forestry bulldozers, wrapped an area stretching from Avon Park Estates south to Reflections on Silver Lake.

Reflections is located across U.S. 27 from South Florida Community College.

Firefighters were concerned that the easterly winds would push the fire toward Reflections and the Knolls-Century Hills subdivision.

By afternoon, the danger had subsided even though spotty flames were visible near the site of the mobile home.

Melissa Yunas, wildfire mitigation specialist with the state division of forestry, said Monday that 25 acres had burned.

"It was a grass fire so it was running fast," she said. "Winds were gusting at about 15 to 20 mph."
Avon Park Fire Chief Terry Feickert, who stood by at the Reflections front, said the departments were taking an "extra-precautionary" stance, but he did not believe the fire would threaten any structures from Reflections.

A firefighter from Highlands Lakes standing by at Knolls considered that area safe as well by 1 p.m.
"The smoke's starting to lay down some," Feickert said as he looked over a large field. Smoke trailed from the west but nobody could see the flames.

Forestry officials performed large controlled burns throughout Avon Park Estates two months ago. Jack Oas remembered that when he first saw the smoke from his Reflections home and thought it was just another one of those burns.

"I was just riding around my bike to see where the smoke was coming from," he said.
Other neighbors at Reflections saw it as nothing more than a spectacle.

"It ain't even an inconvenience," said Tom Stevens, who lived in Reflections for 11 years. "It breaks my day (up), as long as nobody is hurt."

State Fire Marshal Lt. Brandon Ball said Monday afternoon that to his knowledge, his office had not received any request by any agency to investigate.

Yunas reminded people to be careful not to start accidental fires because of drought conditions, high winds and low humidity.

"It's very dry out there and we're asking residents to take care when they're doing anything that can create a spark or make a fire," she said.

Calls to Highlands Lakes Volunteer Fire Department for a comment were not returned.

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