134-Acre Brush Fire Sweeps Through Pasture

A 134-acre brush fire swept through a pasture Friday afternoon, forcing the closure of U.S. 301 from State Road 50 south to the Pasco County line.

Hernando County Fire Rescue personnel attacked the blaze with help from their Pasco County counterparts and had the blaze mostly extinguished within an hour and a half. The road reopened after about an hour.

A stiff breeze and dry tinder fueled the flames, but neither fire officials nor the property caretaker could immediately determine a source, Hernando's Assistant Chief Frank DeFrancesco said.

One house in the middle of the property was endangered, but it emerged unscathed from the blaze. DeFrancesco said there were a "whole bunch of cows" in the field, too, but none were injured.