TAMPA, Fla., June 25 (UPI) -- Health officials advised Tampa, Fla., residents with respiratory problems to stay indoors Monday due to smoke from wildfires in Pasco County.
"The way the winds are going, smoke is getting trapped below and is headed south to the bay area," National Weather Service meteorologist John McMichael told the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.
The three fires, which were all sparked by lightning, were contained, Pasco Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Mike Ciccarello told the newspaper. He said the Tampa smoke likely came from a 131-acre brushfire 12 miles northeast of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line.
That fire "jumped out of the lines" a few times Sunday but was contained Monday, Ciccarello told the Times.
A brushfire that started two weeks ago in Starkey continued to burn, as did a 39-acre fire near the Connerton subdivision, the newspaper reported.
