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Water begins flowing in effort to extinguish Port St. Lucie mulch fire

Officials hope smoke won't be an issue by next week
Water flowing into berm in effort to extinguish Port St. Lucie mulch fire, Sept. 14, 2022
Posted at 11:00 PM, Sep 14, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-14 23:03:55-04

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Big steps are being taken to put out a pesky mulch fire in Port St. Lucie, which includes a plan that's never been done before in St. Lucie County.

Water is now flowing from a water main located about a mile north of the property.

The water will be filling a trench that travels all the way to the 28-acre fire.

Water flowing into berm in effort to extinguish Port St. Lucie mulch fire, Sept. 14, 2022
Water began flowing from a water main Sept. 14, 2022, as fire crews work to extinguish a mulch fire that has been burning for days in Port St. Lucie.

Crews on Tuesday completed a berm around the fire so the water will basically fill up the berm like a bathtub.

RELATED: Health leaders warn Port St. Lucie residents of air quality due to mulch fire

The hope is now that the water is moving, this time next week smoke should not be an issue.

Fire rescue says it continues to respond to 911 calls for people with respiratory impacts.

Area schools also continue to limit the time students are outdoors.

St. Lucie County Fire District Fire Chief Nate Spera speaks about what crews are doing to extinguish a mulch fire in Port St. Lucie.
St. Lucie County Fire District Fire Chief Nate Spera speaks about what crews are doing to extinguish a mulch fire in Port St. Lucie.

"Everybody needs to keep in mind that it's about 9 million gallons to give us one foot of water," St. Lucie County Fire District Fire Chief Nate Spera said. "We know we’re going to need about 4 to 5 feet minimum, so we're producing probably between 4 and 5 million gallons a day, so it's going to take days for that to build up."

With the water now flowing, crews will be working overnight to keep an eye on the water pumps to make sure they don’t fail and slow down the process.

Fire officials said the mulch fire was started by a lightning strike.