County Line Fire Update April 15, 2012 8:00pm
Incident: County Line Fire Wildfire
Released: 4/15/2012
Current Status
-Management of the County Line Fire was delegated to the Southern Area Type 2 Incident Management Team led by Incident Commander Michael Dueitt on Tuesday, April 10.
-The Osceola National Forest has an extensive prescribed fire program that helps reduce the potential for large wildfires. Due to ongoing drought conditions in Florida, the forest has been unable to burn as frequently as needed.
- About 45 miles of fire line have been constructed to contain this fire. Basically, line was established using existing roads, trails, or firebreaks to ensure an 8 to 16-foot-wide fire-control line. It was from this line that the strategic burning operations were carried out. The goal is to create a 200 foot wide clear zone around the fire; the fire line is the outside edge of this zone. Today firefighters continued to work to reinforce this line.
- Late Monday morning, firefighters plan to strategically burn approximately 2,000 acres to continue the removal of fuels within the containment lines. Most of these fuels are in the southwest section of the fire. This will not increase the acreage of the County Line Fire.
Planned Events
Continue to reinforce containment lines and be alert to spot-overs and new fires. Strategic burning is planned for Monday to remove pockets of fuel that occur inside the fire line.
Estimate Acreage
34,936
Percent Containment
65 percent
Cause / Date Started
The fire started on Thursday, April 5. The cause was lightning.
Personnel and Equipment
350 personnel are on the fire. Equipment includes 32 fire engines, 27 dozers, and 5 helicopters.
Participating Agencies & Cooperators
USDA Forest Service, Florida Forest Service, John Bethea State Forest, The Langdale Company, Greater Okefenokee Association of Landowners, The Forestry Company, Columbia County, Baker County, Georgia Forest Service, Baker Co. Fire Dept., Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Dept. of Transportation, Columbia County Fire Dept, Okefenokee NWR
Restrictions and Closures
The Temporary Flight Restriction remains in place for a 7-mile radius from the fire's center up to 3,000 ft..
Fire Weather
High pressure will continue to move further into the Atlantic with southerly low level flow over the fire area today as moisture levels slowly increase. A cold front will approach the region Tuesday with southwesterly flow ahead of the front. The front is expected to move over the area Wednesday with a chance of showers and thunderstorms.
Smoke
Based on smoke modeling at the County Line Fire Incident Command Post, we can expect to see smoke crossing into rural Georgia on Monday afternoon and evening. Smoke can create hazardous driving conditions, particularly in the early mornings when smoke mixes with fog. Drivers should slow down, turn on low beams and obey any advisories. Visit: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jax/ n=hourlyforecast
