Wildfire crews decrease threat to homes from Picayune Strand blaze

Last year, a fire destroyed everything Todd and Monique Waldeck loved. 

This year, if a fire threatens their land again, he will fight it himself and go down swinging. 

“We’re on high alert,” Todd Waldeck said. 

The Lee Williams Road Fire last March east of Collier Boulevard reduced the couple’s Benfield Road home to rubble.

This week, the Waldecks panicked when they heard of the Flag Pond Fire in the Picayune Strand State Forest south of Alligator Alley. 

The fire has scorched 2,600 acres and was 70 percent contained as of about 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Florida Forest Service. 

The fire prompted voluntary evacuations of residents living in homes on Lee Williams Road — where a fire that destroyed several homes last year started — and Snake Road on Thursday evening. 

More:Wildfire prompts voluntary evacuation on Snake and Lee Williams roads in Collier

More:Marco Island covered by smoke from Collier brush fires, authorities say

Some outside structures were destroyed by the fire, but no homes were lost. 

By Friday, fire officials said homes on Lee Williams Road no longer were threatened. However, if the winds shift, only 5 ½ miles of brush separate Lee Williams Road from Benfield Road. 

“It can happen,” Waldeck said. “We’re ready for it if it does.” 

Waldeck said he bought a pump to extract water from a large pond on his property. He attached about 150 feet of hose to the pump, made his own high-capacity nozzle and attached that to the side of a backhoe. 

“It’s too much to hold on to when we turned the nozzle on,” Waldeck said. “I can spray in different directions with the backhoe.” 

More:Fire crews continue to battle wildfires in Collier, Hendry 

More:Northeast Florida team to help fight increasing wildfires in Collier, Lee, Hendry counties

Fire officials on Friday said the threat level to homes had diminished. On Thursday, Greater Naples Fire Rescue District crews worked through the night protecting homes. 

“Nobody went home all night last night,” said Nolan Sapp, the Greater Naples assistant fire chief. “That was our primary job — protecting houses out there.” 

Firetrucks backed into driveways, and crews saturated the land surrounding homes and put out hotspots. 

Sapp said the trucks are backed in so firefighters can drive right out if a fire gets out of control. On Thursday night, Sapp said, some firefighters had to shelter inside their emergency vehicles or in an open area away from the fire because the blaze blocked their exit. 

Sapp said firefighters were doing “mop-up” operations around the homes Friday, meaning they were saturating the ground and making sure nothing sparks again.

Although homes are not in imminent danger, county resources are ready in case the situation escalates, said Dan Summers, director of the Bureau of Emergency Services in Collier.

"We have a good readiness posture," Summers said. "We're as ready as we were during the peak of last season."

Summers said evacuation supply trailers are "already loaded and ready to go" in case shelters need to be activated. Those trailers would transport items such as cots and blankets to evacuation shelters, he said. 

Which shelters would be opened if a need arises would depend on the scenario, Summers said, but the first preference would be to use recreation centers, including the Golden Gate Community Center and Max Hasse Community Park on the western edge of Golden Gate Estates. 

"They're penciled in on our list," he said. 

Those could be activated within a couple of hours, Summers said.

Summers urged residents to monitor radio, television and smartphones in case of emergency notifications. 

Fire officials have said conditions could change quickly.

According to Sapp, the weather has been a significant challenge for firefighters. Winds have been coming predominantly from the north, but about 3 p.m. sea breezes kick in, changing the wind direction and fire movement, he said. 

“They start pushing from the west to the east, and then we have to change our strategy mid-stream,” Sapp said.

Samantha Quinn, a Florida Forest Service spokeswoman, took members of the media on a tour of the fire Friday afternoon. 

Quinn said firefighters on Thursday and Friday dealt with extreme and “erratic” fire behavior.

Small fires flared up on the west side of Miller Boulevard in Picayune. Several smoke plumes could be seen. 

“It wasn’t like this an hour ago,” Quinn said of the afternoon fire behavior.

Wildland firefighters used a technique called pump-and-roll to put out small flare-ups. The technique involves one firefighter driving a brush truck with a rolled-up hose on the back and one firefighter walking around putting out the fire spots.

A Collier County Sheriff’s Office helicopter equipped with a 240-gallon bucket scooped water from a canal in the forest and dropped it on fire spots.

Other Collier fires

Fire crews are battling several brush fires in Collier County, including the Greenway Fire, which was 100 percent contained at 125 acres Thursday but grew to 1,600 acres Friday.

A separate fire started and merged with Greenway, causing the increased acreage and reduced containment, which was at 25 percent Friday. The Greenway blaze was not threatening structures.

Quinn said there is no official cause determined for either of the fires, but a lightning storm passed through the area earlier this week.

Marco Island smoky

Marco Island was enveloped by smoke Friday, authorities said.

"The dense smoke covering the majority of Marco Island is the result of seven different fires burning off island," Marco Island Police Capt. Dave Baer said in an email.

"These major brush fires will impact Marco Island with varying degrees of smoke over the next few days until they are contained," Baer said.

Wind was blowing smoke over the island, which had no brush fires, Baer said.