CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. - Fire crews in Charlotte County were working overnight to contain a fast-growing brush fire that burned hundreds of acres.
At last check, this fire took out 325 acres and shut down roads beginning Wednesday afternoon.
We now know the Zemel Road, which had been shut down between U.S. 41 and Burnt Store Road due to the fire, is now back open.
At this point the fire is 75 percent contained.
The fire moved so quickly it burned through over 300 acres in just over two hours. Flames from the fire got dangerously close to people’s homes in the Burnt Store Village neighborhood.
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"If I lived right here I'd be hosing down my house and packing up my stuff," said Suzanne Brown.
"Over that way is a pile of old debris, so if it burns around this corner it’s going to get big fast," said Steve Moll.
The good news is firefighters tell Fox 4 that the wind helped shift the fire away from some of the homes, moving the flames deeper into surrounding wooded areas.
Firefighters say at this time, they do not believe the fire is suspicious and that it started from natural causes.
Two other fires broke out Wednesday in rural eastern sections of the county, off Bermont Road and Neal Road.
