Forest Service: Large Florida brush fire is 60% contained

NAPLES, Fla. – A large brush fire that has destroyed 12 homes continued to burn in southwest Florida on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The 36th Avenue Southeast fire in Collier County was 60% contained on Tuesday, the Florida Forest Service said.

The brush fire began in Golden Gate Estates on May 13 as separate brush fires, the Naples Daily News reported. It merged into one fire that has already burned some 8,000 acres, officials said on Monday.

Last week portions of the county were placed under evacuation orders as the fires spread. Those orders were lifted on May 15.

Agriculture Commissioners Nikki Fried said during a news conference on Monday in Collier County that residents should remain alert and have a bag of important documents read in case additional evacuation orders were issued.

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