Owner-operators Bob and Nancy Drummond of Cocoa, Fla., are hotter than a wildfire about the wreck that happened when they drove into a wall of smoke from one of about 60 Florida wildfires burning in late April.
Although they managed to get stopped safely, two more trucks slammed into the back of them. Nancy, who was in the sleeper, was thrown to the floor, with TV and other items in the sleeper shelves coming down on top of her. They weren't hurt, but the Drummonds are asking state officials why the road was open.
The crash, on Highway 301 at the Marion/Alachua county line near Gainsville, involved seven trucks, say the Drummonds. Four of them were totaled, including the Drummond's trailer. They don't know yet about their award-winning Kenworth, "Ain't God Good," which sustained front-end damage.
The fire had been burning for several days, fueled by mossy organic matter in a lake left mostly dry by the state's three-year drought. Forestry officials set a backburn the day of the Drummond's wreck to prevent the wildfire from spreading. The smoke from both fires, which together burned about 2,000 acres, apparently caused the visibility problems on the highway. There was so much smoke earlier in the week, a smoky haze in nearby Gainesville prompted county officials to issue an alert for people with respiratory illnesses.
The fire situation in Florida is only expected to get worse. The state is just now entering the traditional fire season in the state, which is May and June. As of April 30, 2,330 wildfires statewide in Florida had charred more than 180,000 acres so far this year. Meteorologists say it might be August before the state gets substantial relief from the three-year drought that has made the wildfires so bad. The drought is the worst the state has experienced since the 1930s.
For more information about Florida wildfires, visit http://flame.fl-dof.com.
Although they managed to get stopped safely, two more trucks slammed into the back of them. Nancy, who was in the sleeper, was thrown to the floor, with TV and other items in the sleeper shelves coming down on top of her. They weren't hurt, but the Drummonds are asking state officials why the road was open.
The crash, on Highway 301 at the Marion/Alachua county line near Gainsville, involved seven trucks, say the Drummonds. Four of them were totaled, including the Drummond's trailer. They don't know yet about their award-winning Kenworth, "Ain't God Good," which sustained front-end damage.
The fire had been burning for several days, fueled by mossy organic matter in a lake left mostly dry by the state's three-year drought. Forestry officials set a backburn the day of the Drummond's wreck to prevent the wildfire from spreading. The smoke from both fires, which together burned about 2,000 acres, apparently caused the visibility problems on the highway. There was so much smoke earlier in the week, a smoky haze in nearby Gainesville prompted county officials to issue an alert for people with respiratory illnesses.
The fire situation in Florida is only expected to get worse. The state is just now entering the traditional fire season in the state, which is May and June. As of April 30, 2,330 wildfires statewide in Florida had charred more than 180,000 acres so far this year. Meteorologists say it might be August before the state gets substantial relief from the three-year drought that has made the wildfires so bad. The drought is the worst the state has experienced since the 1930s.
For more information about Florida wildfires, visit http://flame.fl-dof.com.
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