Royal Palm Beach - The lush and highly flammable melaleuca trees once bordering homes along Bilboa Street were reduced to nothing more than charred skeletons Monday by an out-of-control fire that raced through nearly 75 acres of a natural preserve.
For nearly four intense hours, firefighters and residents battled flames that leapt to treetops and rained embers on rooftops. Firefighters and the Division of Forestry used a helicopter and heavy equipment to keep the fire at bay. Residents used their garden hoses and sprinklers.
"We're trying to get all the ashes when they hit," John Lyons yelled from his roof about 4:30 p.m. He'd been up there with his garden hose for about 45 minutes.
When it was over, officials said the 70 houses in the La Mancha community near Okeechobee Boulevard that had been endangered were all still standing.
"They might have had a little property damage, but they're lucky," Palm Beach County Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Don DeLucia said. "They had spot fires in people's back yards; that's how close it got."
Division of Forestry spokesman Bob Rehr called the fire suspicious and said the cause is under investigation. It started about 3:30 p.m. just north of Royal Palm Beach High School on Okeechobee.
The blaze cast clouds of black smoke hundreds of feet into the air blocking out the sun and giving airline passengers flying to and from Palm Beach International Airport an interesting welcome home and bon voyage.
"It looked like an eclipse -- a big, yellow, bulb," Brad Hiar, 22, said.
The blaze forced officials to shut down part of Okeechobee.
By about 5:30 p.m., the fire was still roaring out of control and fire officials told residents of Bilboa Street to leave. Although the fire had had crept into their backyards, most stayed. Only two people used the shelter opened at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center by the American Red Cross.
Neighbors on Bilboa Street and Cordoba Circle -- two streets neighboring the Pond Cypress Natural Area -- banded together to guard their homes.
Mark Foster, 44, who lives on Cordoba Circle, directed five teens as they cut down a palm tree that had ignited twice from flying embers. The tree was in his neighbors' yard; the neighbors were in Tampa.
"I don't want to take a chance with this tree," he said.
When asked if he'd evacuate, Foster, a former police officer, said, "No. We're going to protect the neighborhood."
And for nearly three hours, that's what they did. They loaned ladders, hosed down roofs, trees, bushes and cars. They handed out bottles of water and helped calm frightened children and nervous pets.
Amid the chaos, Foster still fed the local ducks.
Charlie Beer, who lives on Bilboa Street, and three men he'd never met took turns dousing his yard and roof with a hose. An ember left part of his yard charred, but the embers that landed on the roof were put out.
Despite having towels over their mouths, the smoke was so severe at times the men had to abandoned their posts because they couldn't breath.
"We were just there with our gardens hoses doing what we could," said Tom Narvaisis, who along with his 13-year-old son ran to help Beer.Still, there were those who felt their hose did little to help.
Joann Lena lives on Bilboa Street and less than six inches from the chain-link fence that indicates the end of her property line was a burning bush.
"I took the hose, but the fire was right there, so I dropped it," she said. "You feel so helpless, you know."
The winds began to die down about 6:30 p.m., and firefighters were able to contain the blaze with the help of a helicopter that dropped more than 300 gallons of water on the fire. About an hour later, fire officials were packing up. But at least one fire engine and brush truck patrolled Bilboa through the night.
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