PENNY FARMS, Fla. – The Florida Forest Service is monitoring more than a dozen fires across northeast Florida on Monday. None are threatening homes or structures, but the Florida Highway Patrol says some of them are creating smoke that could cause low visibility for motorists.
Four of the fires are permitted, controlled burns, the largest of which are a 200-acre burn east of Orangedale in St. Johns County and 156 acres in the Carravelle Ranch Wildlife Management Area in southwestern Putnam County. All were considered 100 percent contained.
Forestry firefighters were called Sunday afternoon to Jacksonville's Southside, near J. Turner Butler Boulevard and Kernand Road, as well as a small fire south of St. Augustine and three more woods fires in Putnam County.
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Florida Forest Service plots active wildfires
The Florida Forest Service is investigating how the fire started on the Southside because it was not a controlled burn. Forestry spokeswoman Annaleasa Winter said it could have been from lightening or by a person.
About 5 p.m., forestry firefighters were called to the small fire off Dobbs Road, near the intersection of State Road 207 and 312, south of St. Augustine.
All the fires were brought under control, and the forest service said no structures were threatened..
"It's the low relative humidity and the light winds that we had today that allow fires to spread a little quicker than normal. In fact we had four fires today (Sunday) in northeast Florida that were just under 80 acres," Winter said.