Hurricane Matthew debris catches fire in St. Johns County

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Debris from Hurricane Matthew is burning in St. Johns County. It was struck by lightning two days ago.

Several crews are still working to put it out.

One-and-a-half acres of debris that caught fire at Indianhead Biomass have burned so far.

The Florida Forest Service said they get calls from this company often to requests permits to burn debris. It was during a call that the owner saw the fire.

“A call was put into our center calling in for a permit, they realized when calling in and came out here there was smoke coming from another pile,” said Julie Allen, public information officer for the Florida Forest Service.

Allen said they’re working with the business and St. Johns Fire Rescue to put it out. One way is by churning the debris over and over and adding some water.

“We’ve put approximately 100,000 gallons of water on this pile to try and extinguish this fire,” Allen said.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management put out a potential hazmat release when the fire started, stating debris included pressure treated lumber, plastics and other unknown hazardous materials.

SJFR says they believe there are no hazardous conditions at this time.

Cox Media Group