Sebring firefighters worked a huge fire the better part of the night, Units were called to Highlands Sheds & Tropical Tinting on Highway 27 south shortly after 10:PM.
Officials were alerted when heavy smoke was reported in the area during last night’s thunderstorms. No injuries have been reported and no dollar damage estimate is available.
The state fire marshal’s office was called in to determine the cause of the blaze.
Highlands County’s corona virus numbers spiked over the weekend, and numbers today show one more tic. The Florida Department of Health now reports 130 positive cases of the virus here, one new hospitalization and one additional death tied to the disease.
According to the numbers, of the 4,415 tests now administered, 4,282 – 0r 97.1-percent – have come back negative. There have been 38 hospitalizations listed and nine deaths since records started being kept back in March.
While much of the county is getting back on line, the Highlands County courthouse is not. A water pipe ruptured on the second floor last week flooded a number of offices and has disrupted activities there for at least this week.
Court officials say all proceedings for this week have been postponed while crews get in, assess damage and make repairs.
As June begins, life here starts to return to normal. Highlands County governmental offices are slated to re-open today with phased-in staffing. The branches of the4 countywide library system are providing curbside service and book drop-off
The City of Sebring offices at City Hall, the Police Department Lobby, and CRA office also are back to normal operating hours today.
Citizens will be expected to observe social distancing guidelines.
Highway 27 in Polk County was tied up for a time near the hamlet of Sun Ray. Early reports indicate it was a vrhicle vs a pedestrian.
Traffic was stopped in both directions for a time to facilitate the landing of a helicpter to the transport victim.
No other details on the accident are yet available.
By the way – if you didn’t have enough to think about, the Hurricane Season officially starts today. The good news is, that the disaster preparedness sales tax holiday already is underway, so you can get stocked up on all your hurricane supplies.
Taxes have been lifted on such things as radios, flashlights, batteries, tarps, generators, first-aid kits, bottled water and some foodstuffs among other things.
The sales tax holiday goes on through Thursday.