CLERMONT -- Crews intentionally set flames Sunday to try and put out a stubborn brush fire for good.
About 1,000 acres have burned in a marshy area near Lake Palatlakaha.
Crews intentionally dropped fire-starting balls on a large section of the area to try and increase the size of the fire.
So far, the flames have caused busy roads like State Road 50 and County Road 561 to close while crews put out the flames.
Workers with the Division of Forestry said the faster they can get the fire out, the quicker the highway headaches will go away.
“It could burn for three to four weeks if we left it unattended and just let it burn through the area,” said Don Ruths from the Division of Forestry. “So if we go ahead and burn it out immediately now, hopefully we'll have a blacked out area there, totally burned out, the vegetation gone, in about two hours."
It's believed the fire was started by a lightning strike Friday.
Drivers anywhere in that area can expect sudden shutdowns of the roads because of the smoke.
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