A wildfire burning in western Palm Beach County has grown to 2,500 acres and is 30% contained, according to the Florida Forest Service. The Berger Fire remains active in Palm Beach County within the Florida Forest Service's Everglades field unit. As of 3:02 p.m. Saturday, the Florida Forest Service reported the fire had burned approximately 2,500 acres.
The wildfire comes as the region experienced severe weather Friday that left a trail of impacts across the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County. Residents sent multiple videos to the WPTV newsroom from Sebastian showing a large waterspout passing over the Indian River Lagoon Friday afternoon. In Port St. Lucie, weather spotters captured video of heavy rain moving through the area, with one resident reporting her rain gauge caught over 3 inches.
The severe weather stretched all the way to Okeechobee County, where fire rescue crews airlifted a man to the hospital after he was struck by lightning. Port St. Lucie also saw significant lightning activity.
The St. Lucie County Fire District said crews contained a brush fire near the 1900 block of Castinet Lane after reports that a lightning strike ignited vegetation in a nearby lot. Fire crews also responded to an evening house fire at the 900 block of Bellevue Avenue.
While radar picked up significant lightning in the area at the time, the St. Lucie County Fire District said it cannot confirm the cause as the fire marshal's office still needs to investigate.
Merry Moore O'Rourke, a resident who experienced the storms in Port St. Lucie, described the intensity of the weather. "All of a sudden, it got black.
The wind started just raging and the sky had lit up like I have not seen," Moore O'Rourke said. She summed up what many across the region felt as the storms moved through. "I mean it was radical.
I mean it was it was a little scary," Moore O'Rourke said. From waterspouts to lightning strikes and fires, Friday's severe weather served as a reminder of nature's unpredictable power across the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County. The Berger Fire situation remains developing as officials continue containment efforts.