POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Sunday afternoon attempt to clear backyard clutter ended in a trip to jail for a local educator as dry conditions across Polk County turned a small fire into a five-acre emergency.
Brian Webster, a 57-year-old teacher at Bartow High School, was arrested on February 15, 2026, after a fire he reportedly started at his Cox Road residence jumped its boundaries and joined dozens of other brush fires popping up across the region.
The incident occurred despite a strict countywide burn ban that has been in place since late November due to dangerously dry weather. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived on the scene to find Polk County Fire Rescue crews battling flames that had escaped Webster’s property.
Webster reportedly told investigators he was burning cardboard boxes and other debris inside an old refrigerator. While he claimed he monitored the flames until they seemed safe, the fire eventually caught the surrounding grass. Webster attempted to put it out himself, but the wind and dry vegetation proved too much for him to handle.
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“There is good reason why Polk County officials issued the burn ban, and Sunday’s numerous brush fires are a perfect example of that,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “Additionally, Governor Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency recently due to extreme drought. Property and lives are at risk, and we will charge people appropriately.”
Webster now faces multiple second-degree misdemeanor charges, including reckless land burning, burning during a state of emergency, reckless pollution, and violating the active county burn ban.
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