Fire crews gain ground against Collier County wildfire

Fire crews in Collier County made progress Tuesday, increasing containment of the 36th Avenue SE wildfire to 75% and decreasing the acreage to 8,250.

Officials Tuesday morning reported the blaze at 8,663 acres with 60% containment.

The progress is credited to the on-going effort to strengthen containment lines, create new ones and continued mop-up operations.

To date, fire crews have used roughly 50,000 gallons of water to contain flames and heat along the containment lines.

In a press conference Monday, officials announced that at least 12 homes are lost and 33 have been damaged in the wildfire.

As containment increases on the #36thAveSEFire, crews from multiple agencies work together to mop up and ensure the fire is out. To date, ~50,000 gallons of water were used in the attempt to douse flames and heat along the firelines. pic.twitter.com/6XnXG9DQ7A

— FFS Caloosahatchee (@FFS_cafc) May 19, 2020

Weather conditions, which have fueled the fire in recent days, are expected to shift in favor of fire crews later this week toward higher humidity and a slim chance of rain, officials said.

“By no means does that mean we need to let our guard down,” said Sean Allen, district manager of the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center. “Chances for rain are staying kind of low and the potential for fires are still extreme at this time.”

Fire crews have worked around the clock since Wednesday to battle the blaze coined the 36th Ave Fire.

As of Tuesday, more than 108 fire personnel from across the state have been deployed to combat the blaze.

There are 86 active wildfires consuming over 14,526 acres across the state as of Monday.