Homeowners on alert after woods fire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville firefighters were monitoring a woods fire on the Southside near the Hampton Glen neighborhood.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, there was still smoke in the area. Earlier in the day, JFRD was sent to get the fire under control.

Neighbors said it began around 2 p.m. It's unclear how the fire started, but neighbors said children were playing close by when they noticed the fire. They called fire crews right away, but said they worked to keep the fire from jumping.

"We started hearing crackling and we could see flames," John Rahaim, a neighbor, said. "Basically all our neighbors came over and we hooked up the hoses and grabbed the buckets and went over there to try to start putting it out before the fire department got here.”

JFRD was on scene for hours to put out the fire that caused heavy smoke throughout the area. Residents said the crews had to use so much water, they didn't have running water for a couple of hours.

"I’m really concerned because this affects everyone in the community," Janet Chavous, who lives in the area, said. "I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t headed our way- I wanted to have an evacuation plan if needed.”

The fire is contained but neighbors are remaining vigilant because of the dry weather.