I woke up today learning of a 70-car traffic pile up on I-4 in Polk County. Polk County is literally right down the road from Walt Disney World Resort. How can such a catastrophe happen? Obviously smoke from the controlled burn is already hazardous enough near the highway. That mixed with fog and it spells trouble for visibility along the road.

As the news unfolded during the day we find out that the Divisions of Forestry had warned Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) the previous night around 7PM that there would be smoke problems in the area. Did FHP not take this warning seriously? What about the National Weather Service and the fog in the area? It seems a warning was issued that morning from the weather service that visibility would be reduced to zero in Polk County.

It seems that this accident could have been prevented if the FHP had heeded the Division of Forestry’s warning the previous night when the controlled burn became uncontrolled.