Brush Fire Darkens Beach Skies!

The other day we had a large brush fire north of Jupiter that sent billowing clouds of smoke skyward and darkened the skies along our famous beaches. Fire conditions have been especially dangerous lately because it is so dry and the slightest spark can set off a fire. Couple that with the extreme winds we have had the last couple of days and the picture below is the result.

This shot was taken on the US-1 bridge looking north to Hobe Sound where the fire was threatening homes in the Hobe Sound Golf Club. The condo in the picture is Jupiter Cove, right on the Inlet.

Fires in the winter can be especially nasty since it is very dry this time of year and it can be very windy as cold fronts make their way through the state. The smoke from this fire was blowing to the southeast and out over the ocean. Here’s is what it looked like over the Village of Tequesta.

Several years ago the authorities set a ‘controlled burn’ loose in Jonathan Dickinson State Park on a day when the wind was blowing about 40 knots. Naturally, the fire got completely out of control and swept through the park, burning all of the once-famous leaning pines to the ground. What was once a forest of really cool pines leaning over from the pressure of constant sea breezes now looks like a moonscape. I guess once a controlled burn is on the calendar, no amount of common sense can get it stopped or postponed. Oh, when the fire reached the north edge of Burt Reynolds’ home, the fire department pulled out all the stops to keep his house from getting torched. Too bad the beautiful pines weren’t so lucky.