Lehigh Fire investigating series of suspicious brush fires near homes

Lehigh Fire is investigating what it calls a series of suspicious fires that happened in the area of Columbus and Jaguar boulevards.

This week, crews responded to three separate brush fires off Bari Street East.

“These fires occurred in vacant lots that endangered nearby homes. Thankfully, the fires were quickly extinguished by our crews and no one was injured, said Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District.

Neighbors we spoke to tried putting out the fire. They first smelled smoke and immediately ran toward the fire to try and put it out. When they realized it was growing fast, they started knocking on doors to help neighbors and called 911.

“We ran down the street, and that’s when we see the whole lot like burning down,” said Jean Hurtado.

Hurtado and his brother Fares Herrera first thought they smelled someone barbecuing. But when they saw how close the flames were to neighbor’s homes, they knew they had to act quickly.

“The fire could have spread over to their house, and their house could have got on fire,” Herrera said. “So, you know, it was the right thing to do to knock on their door.”

Firefighters responded quickly and contained the fire to a vacant lot, but they soon realized a completely different fire was burning down the road.

“Further down the road, we had observed another tree that was smoldering, not due to maybe a flying ember or something,” said Katie Heck, a public relations officers for Lehigh Fire. “It was determined that was a whole separate fire.”

Three fires in two days are worrying the families on these streets; many of them have young children and pets.

“It’s concerning that they’re playing with something so dangerous and putting people’s lives at risk or possibly their homes,” said Trinidad Flenner.

Neighbors said they found something near one of the fires that looked like it could have been used to start the fires and told investigators immediately.

“Grass isn’t that big of a deal; it’ll grow back,” Flenner said. “But people’s livelihoods and their families are concerning.”

We asked investigators what the family found, but since the investigation is ongoing, they couldn’t disclose that information.

Investigators are encouraging residents to report any suspicious persons or vehicles in the above-described area to law enforcement.

In addition, they remind anyone with information about the cause of these fires that arson is a crime.

Tips on these fires can be anonymously reported to SWFL Crime Stoppers. If the information provided is helpful and leads to an arrest, you could be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $3,000. Crime Stoppers can be reached by calling 1-800-780-TIPS (8477), or online at southwestfloridacrimstoppers.com.