Published on Thursday, May 11, 2006
in the Daytona Beach News-Journal

Threat of falling trees closes I-95

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- First it was fire, then smoke, now falling trees.

Officials announced Wednesday a stretch of Interstate 95 through Volusia County will remain closed indefinitely while workers remove fire-damaged timber in danger of toppling onto passing motorists.

If we do not do this, there will be an accident," said Chris Worrell, operations chief with the state Division of Forestry. "It would not take much of a wind to blow some of these trees down."

The detour helped some businesses, hurt others and inconvenienced all motorists in a hurry to get where they were going.

One of those motorists was Alabama trucker David Guy, who detoured on U.S. 1. around the closure.

"This is a pain in the butt," he said, sitting in traffic at Nova Road. "It adds about an hour to my trip."

Northbound traffic detours off I-95 at State Road 442 in Edgewater, up U.S. 1 and re-enters the interstate at Dunlawton Avenue in Port Orange. Motorists traveling south exit at Dunlawton -- State Road 421 -- and flow through New Smyrna Beach to State Road 44.

Florida Highway Patrol Capt. Robert Duncan said the detour adds 30 minutes to an average trip.

Worrell said recent fires undermined an unknown number of trees along a 7,200-foot stretch of the interstate between exits in New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange. The flames burn away root systems, primarily in hardwoods and broadleaf species such as gum trees.

"Without the roots, the trees are subject to fall," he said.

The problem was discovered Tuesday. Forestry officials contacted the Florida Department of Transportation and the FHP. The three agencies decided to close the road Wednesday morning. Wildfires first shut down portions of I-95 on Sunday.

FHP officials said having the volume of traffic that travels the interstate daily moving through local communities is an inconvenience, but safety has to be the top priority.

"We do not want to open the roadway until it is safe for the motoring public," Major Cyrus Brown said. "Having a motorist killed by a snag (a fallen tree) would be tragic, but then it would be too late to close the road."

Neither Worrell nor Brown could estimate how long I-95 would be closed. In 2001 a similar problem along Interstate 4 in Polk County took 11 days to clear, Worrell said.

The extra traffic along U.S. 1 didn't help Dianna Perrine's commute from Titusville or business at her New Smyrna Beach produce stand and ice cream shop.

"Usually at this time (lunch), our parking lot is full, but there are only three or four cars out there," she said. "The traffic has hurt us by about 15 to 20 percent."

But it helped others. Vance Smith, manager/owner of the Edgewater Chick-fil-A, said there has been a 20 percent increase in customers, which he thinks is due to the rerouting of traffic from I-95.

"It is not as busy as you would think with all the traffic," he said. "I think they are in a hurry and are running late and aren't stopping."

FHP troopers are recommending motorists remain up to date on road conditions and detours by calling 511 on their cell phone or check the agency Web site at www.flhsmv.gov/fhp. .

Keeping up with the news helped Kim Henry anticipate possible delays in his trip from West Palm Beach to Virginia.

"I planned on extra time because I knew I would be stuck in traffic," he said while eating lunch at the Edgewater Chick-fil-A. "It's life. You just have to live with it."

While state officials geared up for tree removal, local fire crews were cutting back efforts in neighborhoods impacted by the blaze.

New Smyrna Beach spokeswoman Shannon Lewis said local firefighters would continue to protect buildings along Pioneer Trail and in the Sugar Mill subdivision Wednesday and overnight.

"They are checking for flare-ups," she said. But most units have been put back into regular service to allow their crews to get ready for the next time.

In Daytona Beach, city firefighters extinguished a remote brush fire north of LPGA Boulevard, east of Interstate 95 and west of the Advanced Technology Center on Williamson Boulevard around 2 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters said.

Someone had apparently set fire to an abandoned sport utility vehicle and the flames spread to the woods. A truck driver on I-95 first reported the fire. The Division of Forestry and the sheriff's helicopter also assisted.

Also on Wednesday, Volusia County Fire Services director James Tauber issued an outdoor burn ban for unincorporated areas of Volusia County. The ban also applies to the cities of DeBary, Pierson, Oak Hill and Lake Helen. The ban takes effect Friday and bans all outdoor burning. The only exception is outdoor cooking done with a contained gas or charcoal grill (excluding a fire pit). A person who violates the ban could end up in the county jail for up to 60 days and paying up to a $500 fine.