VIDEO: A lightning strike ignited a 5-acre brush fire that sparked in the woods near homes in Punta Gorda Thursday afternoon.
According to Charlotte County Fire & EMS, firefighters are assisting the Punta Gorda Fire Department in battling the flames in the woods near 11220 Burnt Store Road. 10 aerial water drops were released on the flames by a Charlotte County helicopter unit.
Punta Gorda Fire Chief Holden Gibbs said it’s common for lightning to spark a brush fire.
“It is quite common with all the brush that we’ve had from the downed trees from Ian and the last storms…there’s a lot of fuel out here, so with the dry conditions until we get a little bit more rain to saturate that, you might see additional brush fires,” Gibbs said. Gibbs said no one was hurt, and no homes were damaged.