Firefighters Battle Brush Fire in FishHawk Ranch

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue is on the scene of a brush fire at 5720 Osprey Ridge Dr., Lithia, in FishHawk Ranch.

Firefighters responded at about 2:45 p.m. Friday, March 29, to discover several hot spots they are now working to control.

Residents, describing the fire as "huge," are reporting that the fire is located near the skate park on Osprey Ridge Drive and that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has closed Osprey Ridge in front of Bevis Elementary School.

Fire Rescue says they have evacuated the students at the FishHawk Early Learning Center at Bevis. Officials say the fire is threatening some homes but some homes in Meadowpark were evacuated.

Resident Matthew Proctor said Fire Rescue now has the flames under control.

"It was pretty frantic for a bit there," reported Proctor on the FishHawk Ranch Neighborhood Facebook page. "The fire was probably about 10 to 20 feet from some of the homes in Parkside Village. Neighbors were all out with hoses spraying water on the foliage to try to keep it from spreading. The fire department did a great job getting it under control quickly."

Residents believe the fire was started by kids shooting off fireworks.

Patch will have updates as they are made available.