BITHLO, Fla. — Both directions of State Road 50 near Bithlo are back open Friday after thick smoke from a wildfire forced officials to close the roadway for the third morning in a row.
State Road 50 eastbound and westbound were closed from Lansing Street to State Road 520 but the stretch of road is reopened.
This weekend, drivers could face even more problems on SR-50 in East Orange County.
A brush fire that has caused numerous closures this week in Bithlo continues to burn.
Detours have been put in place to get drivers around another shut down, should one happen.
One closure earlier this week was unlike anything Tropical Plumbing owner Lyndon Denelsbeck had ever seen before.
“We had a big truck parked, and you could not see it,” he said.
The smoke has since become the norm for Denelsbeck, who doesn't want to lose any business this weekend.
“What we've been doing is loading up the trucks at night, and the techs take the trucks home with them,” Denelsbeck said. “That way, they can be dispatched in the morning.”
The Florida Highway Patrol said there is a good chance cars will be kept off SR-50 again, so beach-goers will need to follow the posted detour at Chuluota Road if they want to connect to SR-520 to head to Cocoa Beach.
Once on Chuluota, signs will point drivers to Lake Pickett Road and then Fort Christmas Road, which will then drop drivers onto SR-520.
Due to the detour, at least 400 students were either late or absent on Wednesday at East River High School.
Addie DelCastillo's two kids were among students who stayed home.
“Close the road, I don't mind,” said DelCastillo. “They can miss school. They can make up the work. They can't make up their lives.”
The high school told WFTV only 100 students were late on Friday, because most anticipated the problem.
The Florida Forestry Service said the fire in eastern Orange County is one of 86 currently burning in the state. So far, there have been 1,650 in Florida since Jan. 1.