LAKE PLACID — Florida Division of Forestry investigators now know what caused the wildfire in the Leisure Lakes community, but they're not releasing names or addresses yet. ...more

February 14, 2008

Highlands County residents should feel great pride in the firefighters who protected numerous houses and buildings during this week's wildfire on Henscratch Road. These brave men and women stood tall, and sometimes alone, protecting structures as flames raced toward them. When you think about it, their actions were extraordinary. ...more

February 14, 2008

Jimmy Branca doesn't know exactly what saved his life: his Chevy truck, a safety device on the powerline up above, or maybe God. ...more

February 13, 2008

LAKE PLACID — A Division of Forestry crew was contemplating setting a backfire on Tuesday morning to burn out brush that could cause future blazes. ...more

February 12, 2008

SEBRING – The Highlands County Agri-Civic Center was opened as an emergency shelter at about 6:30 p.m. Monday to shelter people who had to evacuate the Henscratch Road area due to a wildfire. Gloria Rybinsky, county public information officer, said she did not have a count of how many families came to the shelter. "We do not know how many people will use this shelter," Rybinski said. "It was not a mandatory evacuation. It was a voluntary evacuation and we opened the Agri-Civic Center for people who might need this option." ...more

February 11, 2008

The night before the deadly Polk County crash on Interstate 4, the two highway patrol troopers working the overnight shift knew to look out for smoke and fog that could make travel dangerous. ...more

January 12, 2008

A fast-moving wildfire pushed by Santa Ana winds raced through the canyons and mountains of this wealthy enclave for the second time in little more than a month Saturday, destroying 49 homes and forcing as many as 14,000 residents to flee. ...more

November 25, 2007

Officials blamed a wildfire that consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes last week on a boy playing with matches, and said they would ask a prosecutor to consider the case. ...more

November 1, 2007