Fire officials: Lightning strikes could lead to ‘sleeper fires’

CAPE CORAL, Fla. Firefighters fear lightning from the upcoming storms could spark another wildfire.

The Florida Forestry Service and fire crews battled two “sleeper fires” Thursday in Charlotte County, both of which were caused by lightning.

“We’ve had several lighting strikes the past couple of days,” said Patrick Mahoney, a wildlife mitigation specialist for the Florida Forestry Service. “We’ll be chasing lighting strikes for the next 10 days to two weeks.”

The first blaze burned approximately 20 acres at the Redneck Yacht Club in Punta Gorda, fire officials said. The blaze ignited when lightning struck a nearby tree Wednesday, causing embers to spread and start a fire.

The second occurred near Farabee Road and State Road 31. The blaze, known as the Rum Creek fire, burned approximately 10 acres after a tree was also struck by lightning, Mahoney said.

These fires are considered “sleeper fires” because the energy from the lightning strikes ran deep underground, causing the fires to remain dormant and undetected.

“A lot of the time, it goes right into the ground and it (the fire) will smolder there,” Mahoney said. “Just because we got a little bit of rain doesn’t mean anything, especially with lighting strikes.”

Although both fires are contained, firefighters are still monitoring hotspots.

A third fire also ignited at the 2600 block of Ceitus Parkway and burned 8 acres, the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center said. A firefighter was hospitalized with heat-related injuries, but is expected to be OK, according to fire officials.

The cause of the fire is unclear.