Wildfire, Polk
- When
- February 18, 9:00 AM EST to February 24, 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Polk County, 2 mi NW of Polk City
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 27.949, -81.698 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Florida, February 18 to 24, 2001
A large wildfire burned over 11,000 acres of mainly grass, scrub trees and shrubs along and north of the Interstate 4 corridor over mainly rural portions of northern Polk county. A ten mile stretch of Interstate 4 was closed between Polk City and Lakeland due to the wildfire for nearly ten days.
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
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS TBW wrote it up.
A large wildfire burned over 11,000 acres of mainly grass, scrub trees and shrubs along and north of the Interstate 4 corridor over mainly rural portions of northern Polk county. A ten mile stretch of Interstate 4 was closed between Polk City and Lakeland due to the wildfire for nearly ten days. The variable smoke plume produced by the wildfire occasionally reduced visibility to between one half and two miles as far west as St. Petersburg in Pinellas county. Also, ash from the smoke plume was deposited as far southwest as Ft. Myers in Lee county of Southwest Florida.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 18, 3:15 AM EST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 3:15 AM EST, 5 hours 45 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
315 AM EST SUN FEB 18 2001
CLOUDS HAVE CLEARED OUT OF THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA WITH A
SLOW SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION OF THE CLEARING LINE CONTINUING.
THE LARGE POLK COUNTY FIRE THAT CLOSED PART OF INTERSTATE 4 IS
CLEARLY DEPICTED ON IR IMAGES. SMOKE PLUME FROM THOSE FIRES IS MOVING
SOUTHWEST FROM THE LOW LEVEL NE FLOW AND HAS ALREADY MADE IT TO
RUSKIN AND SRQ. SMOKE SHOULD CONTINUE TO WORK SW TO W AS SURFACE HIGH
ACROSS MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY MOVES EAST AND OFF THE MID ATLANTIC
COAST.
EXPECT GENERALLY ZONAL FLOW THROUGH THE PERIOD ALTHOUGH THE 50H
RIDGE DOES BUILD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GULF. AS THE SURFACE HIGH
SHIFTS TOWARDS THE COAST...EASTERLY FLOW SHOULD TAP SOME ATLANTIC
MOISTURE...BUT SHOULDN'T BE NEAR AS MUCH AS ETA SUGGESTS. WILL
FOLLOW CLOSER TO AVN SOLUTION WITH JUST SOME CLOUDS FOR OUR CWA.
MARINE...BUOY 036 UP TO SCA CONDITIONS...ALTHOUGH OTHER OBS IN THE
WATERS RUNNING AT SCEC OR LESS. GRADIENT REMAINS FAIRLY TIGHT THROUGH
MONDAY MORNING AND THEN SHOULD RELAX UNDER RIDGE UNTIL THURSDAY WHEN
THE NEXT FRONT APPROACHES. WILL MAINTAIN SCEC FOR ALL AREAS FOR
TODAY.
FIRE...CURRENT THINKING IS TO LEAVE WATCH AS IS...BUT FIRE WEATHER
FORECASTER WILL TAKE A CLOSER LOOK BEFORE ISSUING THIS MORNING.
PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:
TPA BB 074/053 075/057 0000
FMY BB 077/057 079/059 0000e
.TBW...SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION BONITA BEACH TO SUWANNEE
RIVER OUT 60 NM INCLUDING TAMPA BAY.
...FIRE WEATHER WATCH NOON-SUNSET FOR LEVY...CITRUS...
SUMTER...HERNANDO AND PASCO.
67/SGIn the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 18, 6:00 AM EST, 3 hours before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-181400- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 600 AM EST SUN FEB 18 2001 ...BREEZY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE PENINSULA... THE COMBINATION OF A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE FLORIDA STRAITS AND STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS TENNESSEE AND KENTUCKY WILL PRODUCE BREEZY NORTHEAST WINDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA TODAY. BECAUSE OF THIS...OPERATORS OF SMALL CRAFT IN THE GULF AND ALONG BAYS AND WATERWAYS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION THROUGHOUT THE DAY. IN ADDITION...MOTORISTS AND RESIDENTS NEAR THE ONGOING BRUSH FIRES IN POLK COUNTY CAN EXPECT AREAS OF SMOKE TO EXTEND SOUTHWEST OF THE CURRENT FIRE LOCATIONS. THE SMOKE WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES BELOW A HALF MILE AT TIMES WHICH COULD CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. GARRARD
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
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
More
Every storm in Florida in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, February 2001
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: 5235340.