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Firefighters close to containing all four wildfires in Pasco County

 
Pasco County fire crews are battling two brush fires that broke out Monday afternoon. A voluntary evacuation for homes in the area was lifted Monday night around 8 p.m. [Pasco County Fire Rescue]
Pasco County fire crews are battling two brush fires that broke out Monday afternoon. A voluntary evacuation for homes in the area was lifted Monday night around 8 p.m. [Pasco County Fire Rescue]
Published April 14, 2017

LAND O'LAKES — A day after two more wildfires ignited, officials said late Thursday that they were close to containing all four fires that burned through parched Pasco County this week.

That is, until another brush fire starts.

"I believe we are moving in a forward motion," said Florida Forest Service spokeswoman Judith Tear. "The fire did what we thought it was going to do. The tactics we had planned worked."

The priority on Thursday remained the "Silver Palm fire," a 50-acre blaze wedged between the Suncoast Parkway and the Suncoast Lakes subdivision, just south of State Road 52.

Crews spent Wednesday and Thursday back-burning, meaning they lit their own fires in foliage adjacent to the wildfire to starve it of fuel. By doing that, officials said they were able to increase their containment estimate to 80 percent. Before, that estimate was 60 percent as crews spent days struggling to maneuver around the blaze and build fire lines.

PREVIOUS STORY: Two wildfires start in Pasco County as crews contend with first two

The Silver Palm fire and "campground fire," which has burned 75 acres but is 100 percent contained, started Monday. While crews worked campground fire on Wednesday, just west of the Silver Palm fire, they saw rising smoke to the southwest. The source of the smoke was a third fire, the "south bike trail fire," inside Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park. It started at 10 acres and quickly grew to 55.

Crews back-burned that fire, too, and were able to establish fire lines around it. It had grown to about 150 acres and was 95 percent contained by Thursday night.

"We got it in a box," said Forest Service incident commander Brian Prill. "We just got to keep it in the box."

Neither of those three fires damaged any structures or threatened any homes, Tear said.

Then later Wednesday, officials were notified of a fourth fire, the "south wind fire," along Old Dixie Highway and New York Avenue in Hudson. That 18-acre fire was 100 percent contained Thursday. But before crews got it under control, it burned three sheds, a semitrailer that was filled with tires and a boat, officials said.

The campground and silver palms fires were both likely started by lightning, Tear said. Officials believe a cigarette butt started the south wind fire. Human activity likely ignited the south bike trail fire, too, though that fire is not being investigated as arson.

Dry conditions across the southern half of Florida have made for a busy wildfire season, which is likely to continue until the rainy season starts in June. Statewide, crews are battling more than 100 wildfires, which together cover more than 20,000 acres.

Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in Florida, which gives locals financial resources to battle the fires, puts the National Guard on alert and activates price controls on essential goods. Officials in Pasco and Hernando counties have both ordered burn bans.

Last weekend, Hernando County contended with its own wildfire, the 1,100-acre Water Tower fire that burned in a marsh near Hernando Beach. While 100 percent contained, it could continue to smolder for weeks.

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Times staff writer Samantha Putterman contributed to this report. Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 909-4613 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15.