Fire closes campsite

Mar 12, 2009 1 min read

OCALA (AP) – Fire officials are having to work more creatively to combat a roughly 1,300-acre fire in the Ocala National Forest where chain saws and motor vehicles aren’t allowed.

Normally crews would be able to use a bulldozer and other machinery to plow a line around the fire. Instead U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Heather Callahan says they are lighting back fires, hoping to burn off unused fuel and dumping water from helicopters.

The fire, which is only 10 percent contained, was started by an unattended campfire. Officials have temporarily banned them in the forest.