25-acre brush fire off Northlake Boulevard keeps firefighters busy

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A brush fire near the Beeline Highway has been isolated, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday evening.

The 25-acre brush fire started burning in the afternoon, north of Northlake Boulevard and west of the Beeline Highway in the Grassy Waters Preserve area.

Florida Forest Service crews said this fire is difficult to put out because of accessibility, and 12 acres continue to burn.

Smoke was visible in the area off Northlake Boulevard. The concern for this fire is also tied to the smoke and making sure it doesn't reduce visibility for drivers.

"As it was going through the grass, they were trying to mash down lines in the grass to keep the fire from going through the actual grass areas, and my bulldozers out there actually cut fire lines through the woods to the actual pine flat woods," Chris Wasil, with the Florida Forestry Service, said.

Wasil said mother nature likely sparked the flames.

He said since the start of 2022, there has been a rainfall deficit from West Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie to Vero Beach.

Brush fires kept crews in St. Lucie County busy over the Memorial Day weekend responding to 15 incidents.

"We're just getting into lightning season now as it comes and because we're just going out of the dry season into a wet, this is the time we get more brush fires," Wasil said.

Drivers like Quovadis Nembhard said visibility is a concern.

"It's getting darker and there are not many lights out here," she said.

The Florida Forest Service said firefighters would be back out in the morning to continue their efforts to put the fire out.