New Port Richey residents complain after permitted burn for development drops ash over community

TAMPA, Fla. — Just as the weather is starting to cool down, some New Port Richey residents are fuming over a housing development that’s clearing away hundreds of acres of trees and burning them.

They say the fires that have been burning for weeks, leaving everything covered in soot and making it unbearable to be outdoors.

“I was putting my hands together and I see all this is all the soot and the ash.” said resident Lori Hrica.

“And of course it’s in my pool,” she continued. “We’ve been vacuuming the pool almost every other day and look at this. It’s all over my table here.”

Hrica said the soot and smoke is coming from a site just a mile or so away from her River Crossing subdivision, where crews are clearing away trees and brush for another subdivision called New Port Corners.

The developer is permitted to burn the debris on site, but Hrica said the result is literally taking her breath away.

“I can actually see the embers coming down,” she said. “And the smell of smoke is so unbearable — and like I said I have COPD so this breathing is not healthy for me. And I’m sure it must be a problem for other people with my issues as well.” 

Hrica’s neighbor, Kim Shaw, said she is having problems too.

“This is just a daily coating of soot and ash,” she said. “It’s been going on since late September. Maybe going on six, seven, eight weeks.”

Pasco County records show commissioners approved clearing nearly 1,000 acres for the construction of more than 1,800 homes, hundreds of town homes and multi-family units, and retail space.

But before any of that constructing can begin, there’s more brush to burn and Hrica and her neighbors may have to bear with it.

“I have no choice,” she said. “We don’t have the funds to just pick up and move.”