HCFR Extinguishes Three Sunday Brush Fires Amid County Burn Ban

Hernando County Fire Rescue crews extinguished three separate brush fires Sunday afternoon, responding to a 1-acre illegal burn off Wren Road in Weeki Wachee, a 1/4-acre illegal burn that damaged a shed in the 8000 block of Grant Street in Brooksville, and a third blaze on Barrientos Lane sparked when a tree fell on power lines. No injuries were reported across the incidents, and the county remains under a burn ban that began Jan. 8.

Firefighters first responded sometime after 1 p.m. to the Weeki Wachee blaze off Wren Road, which crews say was caused by an illegal burn. The Florida Forest Service - Withlacoochee Forestry Center joined HCFR and “were able to assist in containing the brush fire by around 1:30 p.m.,” according to the reports.

In Brooksville, crews knocked down the 1/4-acre brush fire in the 8000 block of Grant Street by around 1:20 p.m. “The fire was contained and knocked down by around 1:20 p.m.,” the coverage states. Original Report and local responders said the Grant Street blaze “left a shed damaged by flames,” though a Yahoo aggregation of WTSP copy included the line “No structures were damaged and there were no injuries reported,” a discrepancy that investigators are expected to clarify.

HCFR also “responded to a third brush fire that crews say started when a tree fell on some power lines in the area of Barrientos Lane in Brooksville.” Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, Inc. “also responded to the scene to secure the power, allowing first responders to contain the fire,” officials said in the operational summaries.

The three incidents come with the burn ban still in effect countywide. “County officials placed the area under a burn ban on Jan. 8 until further notice due to a lack of recent rain and forecasts indicating below-average rainfall,” and the ban “prohibits all outdoor burning, including bon fires, campfires, and burning of vegetation.” The restrictions do “not pertain to cooking on attended and monitored barbecue equipment, so long as that equipment is a contained gas or charcoal grill.”

Reports framed Sunday’s calls as part of a heightened run of activity, “dozens of brush fires in the area over the last month”, and the Florida Forest Service - Withlacoochee Forestry Center is listed as investigating at least the Weeki Wachee and Grant Street incidents. Hernando County Fire Rescue confirmed no firefighter or civilian injuries; officials have not released further details on enforcement actions or incident numbers as investigations continue.