LAKELAND — A brush fire along Polk Parkway and South Florida Avenue melted a light pole, sending it crashing into the northbound lanes of South Florida Avenue on Wednesday afternoon and backing up traffic for about an hour beginning at about 2:15 p.m.
Officials with the Lakeland Fire Department, Lakeland Police Department and Florida Highway Patrol responded to the intersection after receiving reports of a brush fire. They found about half a dozen palm trees along South Florida Avenue fully engulfed, with embers igniting nearby trees along the parkway
LPD officer Will Long said that it looked like the fire started when someone flicked a lit cigarette out of their vehicle.
Lakeland Fire Department remained on the scene, dousing palm trees along the parkway as flames continued to reignite, pushed along by Wednesday’s winds.