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Highlands County Brush Fire

Leisure Lakes

1:15 p.m., 1/22/26

INCIDENT RECAP: Bluebird Durrance brush fire

Highlands County Fire Rescue was dispatched at 2:42 p.m. yesterday, Jan. 21, to a 178-acre brush fire in the northwest area of Leisure Lakes, near Durrance Road and Bluebird Avenue.

The fire is 100% contained – this means plow lines have been made, and a fire break is in place around the entirety of the fire. Flames within the containment area are still present and Florida Forest Service is monitoring the fire until it is completely under control – meaning completely extinguished.

Smoke will persist over the next few days. Residents must use caution while driving in the area. It is a good idea to close your home window’s and turn on the air or heat.

Florida Agricultural Law Enforcement is investigating and any information about the cause will come from that state agency.

This fire resulted in the evacuation of a large swath of northwest Leisure Lakes, with 183 structures affected by the evacuation order.

Five outbuildings, two enclosed trailers and one vehicle were lost in the fire. No residential homes were lost.

Multiple agencies responded to this brush fire. Florida Forest Service had several districts supporting efforts on the ground, including Okeechobee, Myakka, and Lakeland. Forestry had 8 tractor plows and three Type 6’s at the scene, with air support coming out of Fort Myers.

Highlands County Sheriff’s deputies and Florida Highway Patrol went door-to-door to evacuate residents and maintained the perimeter so fire crews could work the scene. Florida Fish & Wildlife was also on scene.

Highlands County Fire Rescue had support from several off-duty personnel, including division chiefs, battalion chiefs, and lieutenants from other shifts, and from our volunteer force, who not only came to the scene to fight the fire but also stood up at various stations throughout Highlands County to provide continuous coverage for medical calls and other fire calls that were paged out through Dispatch.

Thank you to our Central Dispatch team – all the telecommunicators did an outstanding job yesterday, from helping contact the FAA to implement a no-fly zone to maintaining contact with Command and handling all other calls they received during this incident.

HCFR responding units were Division 1, Chief 1, Chief 4, Chief 6, Battalion 2, Fire Marshal (FM) 1, Emergency Management (EM) 1, Logistics, PIO, Squad 9, Rescue 19, Tankers 18, 30, 33, and 36, Engines 19, 29, and 41, and Brush 19, 29, 30, 33, 33-2, 39, 39-2, and 41. Other Board departments that helped yesterday included Road & Bridge, and GIS with the evacuation boundary map.

We also want to say thank you to Kyle Trafford, the owner of HC Subways, and his Sebring and Lake Placid staff for providing fire crews with dinner at the scene of last night’s fire.

Remember, Highlands County is under a BURN BAN through 11:59 p.m. Feb. 18, 2026.

Burn bans are issued during drought conditions when dry vegetation can ignite quickly, leading to dangerous wildfires that threaten lives, homes, firefighters, and the environment.

Currently, 19% of Highlands County is moderately drought, while 81% is under severe drought conditions.

Burn bans are set county by county based on local conditions. While rules may differ elsewhere, Highlands County’s burn ban applies here and must be followed, even if another county allows burning or fireworks. Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both.

If you see unattended fires or anything of concern, please call 911 so fire services can check it out.

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