Fire near WDW

[PaMom001]

Last night I heard that there were some wildfires near the MK. They said that it wasn't affecting anything. Has anyone else heard this?

 

[Indianadisneyfan]

I read another thread that there was one near A/K. I haven't heared anything on the news about it.

 

[Seahunt]

Last night I heard that there were some wildfires near the MK. They said that it wasn't affecting anything. Has anyone else heard this?

From the local news, it looks nasty for people trying to use US 192 (closed) :

KISSIMMEE -- A wildfire that began a week ago in Osceola County's Four Corners area continued to burn Saturday, shutting portions of U.S. Highway 192 and State Road 429 and cutting off a milelong stretch of businesses, tourists and residents from the rest of the popular tourist corridor.

About six firetrucks and 25 firefighters with Osceola Fire Rescue worked the blaze, along with three firefighters from the Florida Division of Forestry, officials said. They spent the day digging around its perimeter to keep flames from spreading. They also staged backburns to deprive the fire of fuel it would need to grow.

No homes were threatened, but the blaze has consumed 120 acres of vegetation in an area bordered by U.S. 192 on the north, Funie Steed Road on the south, Secret Lake Drive on the west, and S.R. 429 on the east.

"Right now, we're just monitoring things and the fire is contained," said Lt. John Knapp, with Osceola County Fire Rescue. "We're hoping the fire will burn itself out within the next few days."

Officials said the fire, one of nine burning in Osceola County on Saturday, was started by lightning and then stoked by southerly winds and excessive vegetation left over from previous hurricanes. Because the flames spread across unstable marshland, fire trucks were unable to attack the fire directly, they said.

In the afternoon hours, ashes flew about and soot covered cars, street benches and swimming pools. Difficult-to-breathe smoke filled the air and permeated clothes.

Nancy Seaich, 37, walked with her two children along U.S. 192, which remained closed to traffic due to poor visibility between S.R. 429 and Vista del Lago Boulevard. The southbound lane of S.R. 429 was closed from U.S. 192 to Exit 4.

"This is our last two days here and it's been horrible," said Seaich, who flew in from Utah to visit Walt Disney World. "We waited for a bus for an hour and a half and it never came. We're going back inside because it's too smoky for the kids."

Seaich said her hotel was unable to provide shuttle service to the parks, effectively leaving her stranded with Disney passes she cannot use.

Melanie Banchs, 16, counted herself among a few lucky employees able to arrive to work on time to her job at Domino's Pizza on U.S. 192.

"I live right next door, so it hasn't been that bad for me," she said. "But some of my co-workers arrived an hour late because they were caught in traffic."

Florida Highway Patrol officials said they did not know when roads would reopen. The decision could affect businesses, which had fewer customers Saturday or remained closed.

But not everyone was concerned by the brushfire.

Beef O'Brady's, a bar-restaurant on U.S. 192 and Vista del Lago, was "packed to the brim" Saturday morning with people watching the England vs. Paraguay soccer match on TV, owner Weston Sampson said.

"It was all because of our English fans," Sampson said. "Those guys would walk through the fire to make the game."
**********
The traffic backups looked HORRIBLE - I feel sorry for the tourists! The FHP was making people turn around, but couldn't really help advise an alternate route because of trying to keep the traffic flowing. They interviewed a girl who was staying at POP, and she said people were still straggling in at 2AM because they were caught in traffic! We had some big rains this afternoon from the outer bands of TS Alberto (already, and it hasn't even hit yet), and hopefully this will help put all the fires out, though a firefighter they interviewed said right now it was still very smokey but with a torrential downpour too so you really couldn't see to drive then