Port Saint John Fire
April 27, 2006
A small brush fire developed in a wooded area just west of the
intersection of the Port Saint John Parkway and Interstate 95 on
the afternoon of April 27th. A cold front passed over the Brevard
county Spacecoast earlier in the day and due to strong and gusty
westerly winds and very dry relative humidities the fire quickly
crossed Interstate 95 just south of the Port Saint John Parkway.
The fire grew in size consuming palmetto, scrub and dry grasses.
Occasional torching occurred in pine and palm trees and this combined
with strong winds spread the fire eastward near Sharpes and Port
Saint John. By around 7 pm the fire had grown to over 700 acres
and Interstate 95 was closed in both directions.
Numerous crews from Brevard County Fire Rescue, US Fish and Wildlife
and neighboring agencies converged on the fire. Helicopter buckets
were brought in from surrounding areas to drop water on the fire.
Numerous moble units were staged in the residential areas to contain
the fire should structures have been threatened. Fortunately the
fire did not consume any residential structures and there were no
evacuations necessary. A wind shift as documented in the images
below originated from a "surge" of northeast winds from
the coastal Atlantic waters in the evening from 7pm to 9pm . After
the wind shift hit the fire area the spread was pushed toward the
south-southwest as shown by the final radar image (#6). Nightfall
and higher humidity aided in containing the fire and smoke issues
were the main problem during the overnight hours.
General area of the Wildfire near Port Saint
John
The leading edges of these surges in a way resemble a cold front
but are not thought of in a classical sense. Most significantly
for the fire location the surge would produce a wind shift of over
90 degrees within a 15 to 20 minute period as well as a significant
rise in humidity due to the influence of the marine airmass.
Special Weather Statement 552 pm 4/27
Hazardous Weather Outlook 1019 pm 4/27
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National Weather Service Forecast Office
