ORLANDO, Fla. – Residents at the University of Central Florida Towers 1 and 2 returned to their residence hall Sunday after they were evacuated due to smoke from a nearby brush fire.
The fire burned about one acre in a wooded area northwest of the residence halls, which are on West Plaza Drive near the CFE Arena.
UCF Landscape and Natural Resources, which oversees the wildlife management plan and conducts the prescribed burns with the state Division of Forestry, monitored the fire area Sunday night to ensure no other problems arose.
School officials said as many as 300 students live in the residence halls. About 100 were impacted by the evacuations.
There were no campus buildings that were in danger, according to UCF officials.
Students say although the evacuation was an annoyance, they were happy the situation was not worse.
"I was just in my dorm studying all the sudden a fire alarm came out. We came out. We had no idea really what happened. There were just firetrucks everywhere," said Justin Towner.
UCF touted its fire plan for keeping the fire from spreading. A spokesman said the university cut trails in the woods around campus to serve as fire breaks.
Click here for more information on UCF's wildfire management program.