Hundreds of acres burned in brush fire overnight

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - Hundreds of acres burned overnight in a brush fire on the line between Orange and Brevard counties. Officials say people need to get ready for the start of Florida’s brush fire season. 

Florida Forest Service District Manager Sean Gallagher said they're calling this one the Point Set Fire, and they said it's a beast - burning hundreds of acres along State Road 520, near the Saint John's River.

“By the time our crews left last night, there were still some parts that were actively burning,” Gallagher explained, “but they were in areas that we couldn't get to.”

Though there were no houses in the area, fire and smoke darkened the skies and made it tough for drivers. Gallagher said it may have started with a charred airboat that they found at the center of the fire.

“We'll be doing a little more investigation to find out whether it was the airboat that caused the fire,” Gallagher said, “or if the fire started somewhere else and burned up the airboat.”

Gallagher said it's getting toward that time of year again, when everybody needs to start worrying about brush fires. “It's time to get serious with our ignition sources,” he said, “don't dump your barbecue grills out behind your house, don't park your car over dry grass. All those sorts of things.”

Gallagher said the Point Set Fire is one of several wildfires they responded to over the weekend.