NORTH PORT -- Authorities are calling a brush fire "suspicious" that charred 130 acres Friday night and forced dozens of residents to flee their homes.

"We would love to nab him," Patrick Mahoney, a spokesman for the Division of Forestry, said about finding the person who ignited the blaze.

Mahoney did not say if there were any leads. Nor did he say how the fire started.

The fire was 100 percent contained by Tuesday, but forestry officials were still tending to hot spots.

The fire broke out on Yorkshire Street about 5 p.m. and quickly spread to a neighborhood just east of Atwater Drive, threatening 50 homes.

No homes or other structures were damaged. But the flames were close enough to homes that police went door-to-door on several blocks telling residents to leave. They were allowed to return about 3 a.m. Saturday.

Wind and numerous overgrown lots in the area helped fuel the fire.

Firefighters from several cities and counties helped North Port crews battle the blaze.

North Port Fire Marshal Michael Frantz said because so many of the city's homes are separated by overgrown undeveloped lots, it takes additional crews and apparatus to achieve the protection needed during a fire like Friday's.

Another brush fire that scorched about 50 acres last week several miles away in a neighborhood on the city's west side is also believed to be man-made but not necessarily suspicious in nature, Mahoney said. Residents near Ponce de Leon Boulevard were evacuated while crews there worked to save homes. Only a boat and a trampoline were destroyed.

Anyone with information about Friday night's fire can call the Arson Alert at (800)-342-5869.

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