Crews of firefighters are working to control a forest fire in Goethe State Forest in east Levy County. Wildfire Mitigation Specialist Ludie Bond said the flames continue to burn despite several inches of rain last night.
“We were very thankful for the few inches of rain we did receive throughout our district yesterday, but along with it came a great deal of lightning, and firefighters are currently working lightning-started fires from yesterday’s lightning system that moved through North Central Florida,” Bond said.
Bond added the smoke from this and other lightning-started fires affect driving conditions on the roadways, and encourages drivers to be cautious.
“As we saw yesterday and the day before, there’s a lot of smoke coming off this fire, pushing smoke into Trenton and even as far north as Columbia County,” she said.
The fire stretches over three hundred acres of swampy forest. Bond says a low humidity today and gusts of winds will keep the fire raging, but there are several crews out fighting the flames.