UPDATE Feb. 26:
The Florida Forest Service said the fire is now 95% contained and it remains at 90 acres burned.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A wildfire burning in the woods of north Collier County has scorched 90 acres and as of 9:07 pm is almost completely contained, according to the North Collier Fire Chief.
WATCH: Fox 4's Eric Lovelace spoke to some neighbors who heard helicopters in their backyard:
The fire broke out in a wooded area close to some neighborhoods, sending a smoke cloud stretching into the sky. Helicopters were seen making pit stops to fill water buckets as crews worked to get the fire under control.
Mike Krysa, a resident of The Quarry, a gated community in the area, said his daughter called him about a smoke cloud.
"I'm like no, no, it's the one down south of 75, and it's been going all week," Krysa said.
But the fire turned out to be much closer than he expected.
"We got up and looked, and we're like oh my gosh that's huge, and close," Krysa said.
"This is wild, I've never seen anything like this," Krysa said.
The Forest Service said no buildings are at risk at this time. Units from across Southwest Florida responded to the blaze, including helicopters and bulldozers used to block the fire's path.
Jesse Lavender, a mitigation specialist with the Florida Forest Service, said crews use the bulldozers to help contain the fire's spread.
"They're putting lines around the fire, so it does not spread. And that takes a little time It's heavy equipment It's the woods, so it takes a little time to get a full circle around the fire so that we can contain it and put water on it," Lavender said.
The North Collier Fire Chief says to expect fire crews to be working on this into Thursday.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
