Pasco, Hernando County Wildfire Updates

LAND O’ LAKES, FL — As the Florida Forest Service and local firefighters continue to battle three wildfires in the Pasco and Hernando county areas, state officials say one of those blazes had been fully contained as of Tuesday evening.

According to the state forestry service, Pasco County’s Campground fire was 100 percent contained as of 6:22 p.m. April 11. That fire was one of two that broke out along the State Road 52 corridor on Monday. It had grown to 75 acres in size within the Starkey Wilderness Preserve’s Serenova Tract as of Tuesday evening.

The second Pasco County wildfire, dubbed the Silver Palm fire, was considered only 25 percent contained as of Tuesday evening. The fire had spread to 30 acres with firefighters on scene continuing suppression efforts. As firefighters continued to battle the flames near the Suncoast Lakes subdivision, officials had closed off Silver Palm Boulevard to local traffic only. The Suncoast Bike Trail was also closed in the area south of State Road 52 and north of the Starkey connection due to the wildfires in the area, according to Pasco County officials.

Meanwhile, a 1,100-acre fire in Hernando Beach, called the Watertower fire, was deemed 90 percent contained as of Tuesday evening. That fire has been burning for days in Hernando.

State forestry officials said crews were continuing to “mop up” both the Campground and Watertower fires.

No structures were threatened by any of the three fires, the state forestry division noted.

The three local fires continued to burn Tuesday as Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency due to wildfire risk. According to the governor’s office, an estimated 100 wildfires were burning across some 20,000 acres in Florida on Tuesday.

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Photo courtesy of Hernando County Fire Recue