A lightning strike is blamed for a blaze that burned an estimated 79 acres of land on Egmont Key.
The fire started early July 26 and took firefighters nearly three days to fully extinguish.
There were no injuries reported and no structures were damaged.
Egmont Key is 328 acres, with historic sites that include a lighthouse dating to 1858 and ruins of Fort Dade that date back to the occupation of soldiers during the Spanish-American War. The key was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The island is accessible only by boat and uninhabited but for a ranger station and the Tampa Bay Pilots Station, operating for more than 100 years on the key, guiding ships in the Tampa channel that passes under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
The Florida Park Service lists Egmont Key as a wildlife preserve with habitats for gopher tortoises, box turtles, osprey and other migratory and nesting birds. The south end of the island is designated a national wildlife refuge.
The damage to local wildlife and its habitats was being assessed, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service district officer Greg Titus.
As of July 26, wildlife were believed to be safe.
Firefighters contained the blaze early July 29 and continued to monitor the area over the weekend, Titus said.
The park’s beaches and trails were reopened to the public July 29, according to the park service website.
— Kristin Swain