Brush fire threatens homes in North Fort Myers

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. A 15-acre brush fire threatened six homes Sunday near the Lee Civic Center, a Florida Forest Service official said.

The flames began at around 2:45 p.m. close to the intersection of Bentwood Court and Old Bayshore Road, according to Lee County Public Safety.

The homes were no longer in danger by shortly after 6 p.m. and the fire was out by 9 p.m. No one was evacuated, the forest service official said.

The fire took place on property owned by Brandon Reich, wiping out years of work.

“This was where we were going to build our dream home, and we’ve been working on it for the last three years, surgically cutting out trees and not cutting this tree or not cutting that tree,” Reich said. “To see it just completely charred and burned to the ground in some areas is heartbreaking.”

The cause of the fire is unclear, though Reich suspects trespassers are to blame.

“You can’t control everything. They cut through the fence. They come over,” Reich said. “People probably thought it was fair game [and] made a campfire or something. Who knows?”

Roads near the fire were closed, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It’s unclear which roads were affected.

Some homeowners in the neighborhood were using sprinklers to keep stray embers from sparking on their property, according to the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center.

No events were scheduled Sunday at the civic center, according to the center’s website.

WINK News reporter Ellen Thalls went live from the scene via Facebook:

WINK News reporter Channing Frampton shared photos, video and information about the fire on Facebook:

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