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Wildfires burn in Seminole, Orange counties
Authorities were monitoring two separate wildfires on Monday. One closed down State Road 46 in Seminole County for several hours due to visibility concerns. The other threatened several acres in Orange County's Avalon Park community.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Firefighters are monitoring wildfires throughout Central Florida. One flared up on Monday afternoon near the Seminole County line in the Seminole Ranch area. Another was set off late Monday night in Orange County's Avalon Park area.
The Florida Highway Patrol closed westbound State Road 46 east of the St. Johns River due to the Seminole Ranch fire. Troopers were asking travelers to find an alternate route and plan for any future delays depending on visibility in the area. Smoke had drifted north toward Geneva and impacted SR-46, according to officials.
The "Expressway Fire" broke out around 1 p.m. on Monday and is estimated to be around 19 acres in size. The forward progress of the fire stopped by late afternoon and was mostly contained by 7 p.m., according to Florida Forest Service.
Firefighters from Seminole and Volusia counties coordinated efforts to battle the blaze.
In Orange County, fire crews worked to protect homes after a fire broke out in Avalon Park on Monday night. It happened off Wild Tamarind Boulevard.
Orange County Fire Rescue said when crews got to the scene, there was about a quarter acre burning deep in the brush. They couldn’t get to it at first, so they put up protection lines to make sure flames couldn’t reach any homes and waited for the Florida Forest Service to arrive with a tractor.
The fire was 100% contained as of 10 p.m.
"Anytime you have a fire close to urban interface with homes, our main concern is protecting the homes and keeping people safe," said OC Fire Chief Geoff Leavens.
A second fire broke out a few minutes from the first in Avalon Park but was in a wooded area and quickly extinguished.