Pierson-area fire 70 percent contained

By Pat Andrews and Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITERS

posted Feb 11, 2013 - 3:05:13pm

UPDATED 3 P.M. TUESDAY, FEB. 12 — Firefighters from Florida Fire Service and Volusia County Fire Services continue to mop up the fire, which grew to around 470 acres. State Road 40, closed yesterday afternoon due to the smoke, reopened this morning.

Florida Fire Service is the lead agency working on the fire. Spokesman Timber Weller said the fire, which Florida Fire Service is calling the "Checkpoint Fire," has containment lines all the way around it, but there are still spots burning, and Florida Fire Service is listing the fire as 70 percent contained.

"They did a really great job yesterday," Weller said of both his agency, Florida Fire Service, and also Volusia County Fire Services. "We're confident we're going to hold it where it is."

An employee at the Barberville Settlement for the Creative Arts said the smoke is nothing like it was yesterday.

Residents should note that fire season, brought on by dry weather, is just beginning, Weller said. Weller urged homeowners to clean leaves off roofs and out of gutters, and make a 50-foot "defensible line" around their homes that's free of dead vegetation. With that, there's only a 1 percent chance of the house burning due to a nearby wildfire.

DeLand residents have noticed smoke and ash in the air. It's coming from the Pierson fire, according to the DeLand Fire Department. There are no fires in the DeLand area.

UPDATED 4:15 P.M. MONDAY, FEB. 11 — Shortly after 3 p.m. today, Monday, Feb. 11, the Pierson fire jumped State Road 40, forcing the closure of the highway. Six homes on Byrd and Jericho roads have been evacuated.

The Florida Highway Patrol closed State Road 40 in Volusia County between County Road 3 near Barberville to the St. Johns River, due to poor visibility caused by the fire's smoke. Monitor the status of road closures online at FHP's Live Traffic Conditions webpage.

Firefighters from the Florida Forest Service and Volusia, Flagler and Lake counties are battling the brush fire that now has consumed more than 100 acres in the Lake George Wildlife Management Area near Pierson.

REPORTED EARLIER — Volusia County Fire Services is assisting Florida Forest Service to put out a 100-acre brush fire in Pierson.

Community Information Specialists for Volusia County Pat Kuehn said Florida Forest Service had been performing a prescribed burn in the area and the fire jumped the burn line.

The fire is 100 acres on Mary Dexter Farms Management, which is west of U.S. Highway 17 and south of State Road 40.

The fire is moving north-northeast.

There are currently no buildings threatened.

"The firefighters are working hard to keep it from jumping State Road 40," said Kuehn.

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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