Overview
- The fire, which started Monday in the Picayune Strand State Forest near Newman Drive and Beck Boulevard, has reached about 1,500 acres and is 15% contained as of Tuesday morning.
- Authorities ordered evacuations on sections of Stable Way, Union Drive, Barton Gliba Drive, Benfield Road, Beck Boulevard and Le Buff Road, and opened a safe haven at the Golden Gate Community Center with no injuries or structural damage reported.
- Crews from the Florida Forest Service and Greater Naples Fire are cutting lines on the ground while the Collier County Sheriff’s Office uses helicopters to drop water, with additional bulldozers arriving from Central Florida.
- Smoke is drifting over parts of Interstate 75, known locally as Alligator Alley, and along Collier Boulevard, with the National Weather Service noting the fire developed just south of the highway and transportation cameras showing thick plumes.
- The region is in drought, and a February blaze known as the National Fire burned more than 25,000 acres in nearby Big Cypress, raising concern about repeated large fires this season.