Wildfire in Florida, April 15, 1999

Name: Wildfire in Florida, April 15, 1999
Start: 1999-04-15T11:30
End: 1999-04-15T17:30
Location: Florida

April 15, 1999 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Polk

When: April 15, 11:30 AM EST to 5:30 PM EST
Where: Polk County, 6 mi SW of Lakeland
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 27.949, -81.698 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A wildfire ignited and consumed 248 acres of scrub trees and brush near the Lakeland Regional Airport. The wildfire, spread by winds as high as 35 mph and drought conditions, was a mile wide with flames several stories high, near Ewell and County Line roads. The wildfire caused a temporary evacuation of 9,000 participants at the annual Sun n' Fun FAA Fly-In as flames spread toward the southwest portion of the Lakeland Regional Airport.

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, April 1999

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5699870.