Brush fire that burned near homes in east Orange County contained

Fire burned near new school construction zone

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A brush fire that burned near homes Saturday afternoon in east Orange County has been contained, fire officials said.

Tori McCullen said she was inside watching TV when she saw the flames rushing by. All she could think of was grabbing her 9-month-old baby.

"I had no idea what to grab, I was like I need to grab the baby and the dogs, and that was my only concern -- the baby and the dogs," McCullen said.

McCullen said she ran outside to her next door neighbor to tell her what was going on and called 911.

"It's scorched, everything black and stuff is still on fire, still smoldering and they have it all under control now," McCullen said.

Fire crews said first reports of the blaze came from Ortega Street in the Wedgefield community. They said it started as 5 acres, but the wind helped spread it quickly to nearly 20 acres.

"The fire was jumping canal lines, jumping roadways, so we were actively defending structures and a very active fire," said Kathleen Kennedy, of Orange County Fire Rescue.

Emergency crews said the flames stayed on the east side of Bancroft Boulevard, getting close to at least 10 homes and near a new school construction zone.

"Some fencing was destroyed, a couple of trailers, a shed was also destroyed, which were close to structures," Kennedy said. "There were reports of the fire coming in as close as 20 feet within the actual residences."

Orange County Fire Rescue officials said the fire was 100 percent contained Saturday evening. Crews remained at the scene to watch for potential flare-ups.

Eleven units with Orange County Fire Rescue arrived at the scene. Officials said 30 to 40 firefighters responded from Orange County Fire Rescue and the Florida Forest Service. A chopper with the Orange County Sheriff's Office was in the air assisting.

No homes were damaged and everyone was able to get out safe. The cause of the fire is still unclear.

Fire weather warnings were issued for multiple Central Florida counties Saturday.


About the Authors:

Troy Blevins is a Digital Content Editor who has been with Graham Media Group since 2012.

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