Brush Fires Lead To Mandatory Evacuation Order In Collier County
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NAPLES(CBSMiami) –Two brush fires in Collier County have led to mandatory evacuations, burn bans and children being moved to other schools.
Mandatory evacuations were issued in Golden Gate Estates Friday, the Collier County of Emergency Management said.
The fire incident commander ordered mandatory evacuations from the north boundary at White Boulevard to the south boundary at Interstate 75. Also from the west at 39th Street Southwest to the East at Tobias Street.
Golden Gate Community Center has been designated the assembly area for evacuees.
More than 3,100 acres were scorched in a blaze near Everglades Boulevard and 30th Street, the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center said. That fire, which sparked Thursday afternoon and is 10-percent contained, is threatening homes.
Students from schools near the fires were moved to different schools for dismissal.
The second brush fire, which also started Thursday, has burned approximately 350 acres near Frangipani Avenue and is 60-percent contained, fire officials said.
Gov. Rick Scott deployed Florida National Guard resources in response to the fires.
Fort Myers issued a temporary burn ban on Friday, which exempts barbecues, that will remain in place until extreme drought conditions improve. The ban doesn't apply to prescribed agriculture and ban burning authorized by the Florida Fire Service.
Collier County also issued a similar ban on Friday that will remain in place until May 12.
