No buses for some schools near Lake Co. brush fire

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The fire burning in Lake County has grown to nearly 800 acres and is 40 percent contained, according to the Florida Forest Service.

Lake County officials say State Road 44 will remain closed through Monday, affecting transportation for some local students.

According to Lake County Schools, the road closure will impact areas south of Astor to 44A, so there will be no school bus service for students who live in that area.

Schools officials say the change mainly impacts students from Umatilla Elementary, Umatilla Middle and Umatilla High along with Eustis High, Eustis Middle and Seminole Springs Elementary.
 
The schools will be open.

The district says students who can’t get there because of transportation will have their absences excused.

The wildfire in Lake County started Saturday afternoon and quickly grew to burn hundreds of acres.

There were still visible flames near the Royal Trails subdivision Sunday night. 

Crews say they were battling the winds all day, which allowed the fire to grow and the containment percentage to decrease.

State Road 44 was shut down again because of smoke.

Leann Papineau was trying to get through to check on her dad Sunday afternoon.
 
“Definitely was going to come out to see him, maybe talk him into coming and staying with us for a couple of days because apparently where he’s at is very close and he’s in his 80s,” she said.

The Florida Forest Service says there were no evacuations Sunday, but crews did work to keep flames away from some homes.

They also had to bring in a helicopter from the U.S. Forest Service to drop water from above.

“We’re gonna be smelling smoke for probably a couple weeks for sure,” said Dennis Cernohorsky, who lives nearby.
 
Firefighters say they will be on scene to monitor the fire.

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