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Fire Forces Recreational Vehicles To Be Moved

By Steve Alexander Reporter

Published: Tue, July 08, 2008 - 10:16 pm Last Updated: Mon, August 11, 2008 - 4:51 pm

Short URL: http://wkrg.com/a/15736/

Steve Alexander

Firefighters in Gulf Shores kept a close watch Tuesday on a stretch of swampy land in Gulf State Park.
For the second time in five days, fire broke out near State Road 135 and Beach Boulevard.
The fire first started over the July 4 weekend, and investigators believe it may have started due to someone using military flares.
Flames re-kindled Tuesday morning and forced people in a nearby RV park to move their mobile homes.
Doris Sawyer was in one of the RV's visiting from Monroeville when she said she received a scary alert.
She said, "All of a sudden, the fireman comes and beats on the door and says, 'You need to consider leaving.' "
When she stepped outside, Sawyer said, "We could see these red, orange, dark flames back there, and I was really getting nervous."
Firefighters moved quickly as east winds blew the blaze toward the direction of businesses.
Gulf Shores Fire Marshal Keith Martin said, "You were looking at twenty, thirty foot flames at times. The fire was building and moving very quickly, so we decided to have a certain couple of these rows (RV lots), ask the people to evacuate."
Kevin Brown of Alexandria, Louisiana was also staying at the RV resort.
He said, "We could see the flames coming about fifty yards back there behind the camper."
Brown started moving his belongings out of his RV.
He said, "We can always replace the camper, but we got the dog and all we could get out of it and put it back in the Suburban."
Firefighters brought the blaze under control by late afternoon.
No one was hurt.
Waterville USA amusement park and the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo nearby were put on alert for a time, but never had to be evacuated.