SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — A 15-acre brush fire along Interstate 75 just south of Laurel Road in Venice is officially under control after crews battled the flames for around two hours.
The fire, caused by a lightning strike around 6:35 p.m., shut down all lanes of I-75 in the area for nearly four hours due to poor visibility and proximity to power lines, according to Fire Chief Shawn Carvey.
Crews from Venice, Sarasota County, Nokomis, North Port and Englewood fire departments and the Forestry Service worked together to put out the fire.
This fire was the latest in a string seen across Florida.
Pasco County firefighters battled a 110-acre fire in New Port Richey, a cause is still under investigation.
A more than 8,600-acre fire raged across a portion of Collier County last week as two large fires merged. Fire officials reported that the Red Cross had to be deployed after seven homes and 23 outside structures were lost to the fire.
To date 33,785 acres across Florida have burned due to brush and wildfires, according to the Florida Forest Service.
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