Firefighters work to contain Myakka State Forest fire

A brush fire near Myakka State Forest left residents in fear as it threatened homes and property.

The Florida Forestry Service reported that the fire is now contained, with crews having to address remaining hotspots late into Thursday night.

Isol Valdez, a local resident, described the terrifying experience.

“It was horrible. It was horrendous,” said Valdez.

The fire, which broke out Thursday afternoon, spread across 12 and a half acres. Valdez recounted her initial reaction to the threat.

“We thought we were gonna lose our home. We were actually gonna evacuate and everything,” said Valdez. “Luckily for my mom and me, we started getting the hoses, and we started hosing down everything, and the helicopter started coming.”

Fire Marshall Scott Morris provided insight into the ongoing fire control efforts.

“We will have crews out here continuously to mop up and check for hotspots throughout the night and then probably tomorrow as well,” said Morris. “But as you can tell with the wind and stuff, it’s kind of hard to put a time frame on it because just when we think we have it out, it kind of kicks up a little bit on us.”

Morris also advised residents to create defensible spaces around their homes to better protect against future fires.

“Some of these houses that, if you notice around here, right over here, they have quite a bit of brush up near the house,” said Morris. “They just kind of get a defensible space, if it’s not their proper property, they can contact the county, and we can try to contact the property owner to help.”

Valdez and her family expressed relief at being able to return to their home safely.

“We were so scared that it was gonna burn the house. But luckily, thank God we managed,” said Valdez.

Crews confirmed that the fire was 100% contained by around midnight.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Authorities are working to determine what sparked the blaze.