Several dozen crews are battling brush fires that have spread in Lake Wales over the course of several hours. The initial fire call came in earlier today, June 5, at 3:50 pm for a vegetation fire at HWY 630 & Deland Ave in Lake Wales.
The fires have been burning in the River Ranch area/Southeast Polk and they have burned over several hundred acres.
As of 10:15 pm (June 5), crews are still fighting the fires.
Florida Forest Service has taken the lead with these brush fires and PCFR is also on scene aiding/working to protect local homes around the fire areas (along with other departments).
Earlier this evening Indian Lake Estates Golf & Country Club put out a notice that they will be leaving Gate arms open for the evening so that emergency vehicles can enter and exit.
At 9:03 pm, they also updated that the fire has jumped HWY 630 on the southwest corner near the claypots off of Orange Ave and the Woodlands area.
The odor from the fires has spread across much of Polk County. Local Fire Departments have been getting numerous phone calls of people reporting smoke/odors.
This is a developing story and we will be adding new details about the fire(s) as they come in.
