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Blaze Burns in Florida
Blaze Burns in Florida
A wildfire in central Florida, U.S. has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes, the closure of part of a key east-west highway and the relocation of some prison inmates.
The wind-driven fire in Polk County had consumed 11,000 acres by early Tuesday. It had also jumped Interstate 4, a heavily traveled route connecting Tampa, Orlando and Daytona Beach. A 10-mile stretch has now been closed. No injuries were reported and no houses have been damaged. About 30 homes were evacuated in a sparsely populated area near Polk City.
A total of 1,230 fires have scorched 83,150 acres from the beginning of the fire season Jan. 1 through Saturday, according to the division of forestry.
Fire officials say the drought and recent freezes mean conditions for fires igniting are worse than in 1998, when blazes burned 500,000 acres across the state.
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