The Florida Division of Forestry plans to conduct a Greenway Wildfire burnout Thursday afternoon around 2 p.m.
The Greenway Fire was started last Wednesday, March 21, by a lightning strike a mile north of U.S. 41 East and 4 miles east of County Road 951 in rural Collier County.
Over the weekend, the blaze destroyed a recreational vehicle and damaged a home in Naples.
The Naples Daily News reports the wildfire was at nearly 17,000 acres and 70 percent contained Thursday morning.
Firefighters will create a fire line from U.S. 41 at Tomato Road, extending east for 7 miles. It is expected to take about 4 hours.
The Florida Highway Patrol reports I-75 and State Road 29 will remain open during this process. But, for this to safely occur, there will be a number of closures on U.S. 41, starting at Six Ls Farm Road:
• Eastbound traffic closed on U.S. 41 at Manatee Road
• Westbound traffic closed on U.S. 41 at State Road 29
• U.S. 41 at Port of the Islands closed to prevent any westbound traffic
• County Road 92 (San Marco Road) will be closed for all northbound traffic to U.S. 41
Motorists are asked to seek an alternate route of travel during this closure period and to travel with patience.
Some delays are also expected north in Lee County, due to Vice President Mike Pence coming to Southwest Florida Thursday afternoon for a vacation on Sanibel Island.
The Federal Aviation Administration says Pence's arrival will affect airspace over Lee County from about 1:45 to 3 p.m. Thursday.
The News-Press reports that includes flight restrictions spanning across three nautical miles in Lee County during that time, meaning pilots will be prohibited from flying.
At this time, it’s not yet known how the vice president's arrival and transport to Sanibel will impact roadway traffic, though the School District of Lee County tweeted out at message saying that bussing delays are to be expected in the south zone, especially on Sanibel Island.
