‘Mushroom cloud’ purported to stem from massive explosion in Florida was caused by prescribed fire
‘Mushroom cloud’ purported to stem from massive explosion in Florida was caused by prescribed fire
Footage shows a a prescribed fire performed by a local wildlife refuge
CLAIM
A video shared on social media platforms showed a large cloud of smoke rising near Daytona Beach, Florida this week and was described as showing the aftermath of a “massive explosion.”
BACKGROUND
Video footage of a “mushroom cloud” filmed in Florida went viral this week as people speculated as to the cause of the ominous-looking cloud.
A clip of the cloud was posted on TikTok, where it was viewed more than 2 million times.
The clip was reposted by a user on X with a caption describing a “massive explosion” and had been viewed 1.9 million times by the time of publishing.
Another account that shared the clip included the hashtag #BreakingNews while claiming that “explosions” had been reported.
Another account posted the video in which a voice is heard speculating as to the cause of the explosion. “Look at the size of that cloud. It looks like a damn mushroom” the voice can be heard saying in a voice-over.
METHOD
In order to establish if the widespread speculation surrounding the cause of the smoke was correct or not we checked with accounts linked to local authorities, local firefighting and local police departments to see if any explosions had been reported on April 24.
A search of the City of New Smyrna Beach Facebook page turned up no mentions of an explosion and we found no references to an explosion on that date from the New Smyrna Beach Police Department or the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department.
A further search revealed that a local wildlife reserve had announced a “prescribed burn” for April 23 and 24.
“The Refuge is planning a prescribed burn for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 23 and 24. The burn will be in the area just south of the northern Refuge boundary,” the post from the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge read.
As the beach is located roughly 80 kilometres north of the refuge, in neighbouring Brevard County, we have concluded that the smoke seen in the video was caused by the prescribed burn and not the aftermath of an explosion.
RATING
The smoke cloud seen in the footage was not caused by an explosion but instead by a prescribed fire performed by a local wildlife refuge.
SOURCES
TikTok (2024). Available at Explosion New Smyrna beach [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at #BreakingNews: Massive Fire in New Smyrna Beach [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at A massive explosion rocks the Florida coast… [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at I keep seeing this video of…[Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
Facebook (2024). Available at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge – The Refuge is planning a prescribed burn…[Accessed 18 Apr. 2024].
Facebook (2024). Available at New Smyrna Beach Police Department [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
Facebook (2024). Available at New Smyrna Beach Fire Department [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
Facebook (2024). Available at City of New Smyrna Beach. [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].