More Naples, FL area wildfires (H. Michael Mogil, CCM, CBM, NWA-DS*)

H. Michael Mogil April 21, 2017

Late Thursday, Apr. 20, 2017, two wildfires of unknown origin broke out in the Golden Gate Estates area of east Naples, FL. Although fire fighters jumped into action quickly, dry and windy conditions allowed the fire to spread. By this morning, the combined blazes had grown to about 2,500 acres.

Collier County Emergency Management issued evacuation orders for some limited areas yesterday and expanded areas affected during today. As of late this afternoon, the boundaries of the evacuation area extended from the south side of Golden Gate Boulevard south to the east-west portion of I-75 and from Collier Boulevard east to Wilson Boulevard.

Jim Dickey, WZVN-TV (CH 7 – ABC, Fort Myers) Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, posted radar imagery at around 10:00 a.m. E.D.T. today of the dual fires at his Twitter page (@WxDockey). Dickey noted that “Now that A.M. inversion has lifted, smoke plumes from #30thStFire and #FrangipaniFire visible on radar” (Fig. 1).

Images from the Immokalee Fire Control District showed the scope of the fires and their associated large billowing smoke clouds (Fig.2 and Fig. 3). Overnight and during Friday morning, the smoke reached the Naples City limits, lowering visibility at the Naples Airport (KAPF) to 3 miles. Based on the trajectory of the plume this morning (WZVN-TV radar imagery and video), and the fact that the smoke plume is still showing up on the Miami National Weather Service radar late this afternoon, most of western Collier County (including the city of Naples) and parts of southern Lee County are going to be experiencing smoky conditions through tonight and into early Saturday morning.

Thus, smoke from the fire will be affecting many more people than the fire itself. Small airborne particles from the fire may lead to respiratory problems, even for healthy people. Check out Fig. 4, a wildfire poster from http://www.ready.gov, republished by Florida Health. It contains some useful tips for dealing with smoky air.

Originally posted 4/21/17

* The National Weather Association Digital Seal (NWA-DS) is awarded to individuals who pass stringent meteorological testing and evaluation of written weather content. H. Michael Mogil was awarded the second such seal and is a strong advocate for its use by weather bloggers.

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