Brush fire near Charlotte County prison burns 98 acres in 2 days

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — A brush fire near I-75 behind the Charlotte Correctional Facility burned 98 acres in 48 hours over the weekend and is now 85% contained.

Dark plumes of smoke were visible during the weekend, but much of that smoke cleared by Monday. Wind and dead brush fueled the fire's rapid spread.

Shelia Palmore, who lives next to the correctional facility, was in Tampa when her house sitter alerted her about the fire. She rushed home to get her animals in case an evacuation was ordered.

"My dogs are my babies," Palmore said.

Palmore told her friend, who was house-sitting, to take the dogs. The ducks and turkey on her property would be fine, she said.

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"I have pigs out here, and, um, I was kinda thinking, 'Oh my gosh, we're gonna come home to barbecue,'" Palmore said.

With black plumes of smoke behind the correctional facility, Palmore couldn't breathe easier until she got home. She questioned whether fire crews were going to run out of water since the neighborhood is on wells.

"We were pretty well freaking out about that, 'cause the fire can come straight over. I mean, we've just got wetlands…Of course, right now they're dry lands, and it could come straight across very easily," Palmore said.

Fire crews used the sheriff's helicopter with Bambi buckets, fire trucks and U.S. Forest Service bulldozers. They were able to protect buildings in the area, but let the fire burn off weeds and dry brush.

"It's no secret it was windy the past few days, too, so that can also push fire, uh, quickly. And then that heavy load, some of that vegetation just being completely trees, uh, which is great in the fact that it's not, uh, destroying any homes," said Ashley Turner of Charlotte County Fire and EMS.

The fire remains under investigation. Charlotte County Fire reminds residents that the burn ban is still in place; follow all restrictions and be careful when discarding cigarette butts.

Click here for Charlotte County's burn ban information.