Firefighters combated a blaze in northern Marion County on Monday afternoon after a fire escaped a burn pile.
According to Marion County Fire Rescue, multiple units were dispatched to the 13000 block of NW 21st Court in Citra at around 2:05 p.m. on Monday, December 2, after multiple 911 callers reported heavy black smoke and flames in the area.
Within around 10 minutes, MCFR crews arrived on scene.
MCFR stated that the blaze originated from a 100-foot by 30-foot pile of tires that had been set on fire. The flames proceeded to escape the burn pile, “shooting 50 feet in the air” before spreading to nearby trees.
Shortly after MCFR crews began dousing the flames with water, State Forestry units arrived on scene with a plow and multiple tankers to assist firefighters with combating the blaze.
In less than 30 minutes, MCFR crews extinguished the flames, and the fire was called under control at 2:45 p.m.
There were no injuries reported.