North Port brush fire closes northbound lanes of I-75

Fire crews are battling a large bushfire in the area of ​​Sultan Avenue and Lown Street. According to North Port Fire Rescue, the northbound lanes of I-75 are closed. The North Port Estates area between Toledo Blade Boulevard and Sumter is closed. Vehicles are directed to the Toledo Blade Boulevard exit from I-75. Officials said the fire threatened nearby homes and evacuations began. According to firefighters, homes were evacuated along Narcissus and Walpole. Crews do not have an estimated area for the fire at this time. DOWNLOAD the free NBC2 News app for the latest alerts on this story.