KSC brush fire no concern to Endeavour count

Smoke is billowing from a brush fire that has erupted in a swampy area adjacent to the Launch Complex 39 press site at Kennedy Space Center, but it's not considered a threat to Endeavour's countdown.

The roughly 50-acre fire is more than 3.5 miles from Endeavour and launch pad 39A, near the turn basin where a barge has delivered external fuel tanks from New Orleans.

The smoke appears close behind an area where tents have been set up near the center's iconic countdown clock, where NASA will host a Tweet-up starting Thursday.

KSC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crews are stationed at the site and a helicopter can be seen flying around the perimeter, sometimes obscured by smoke.

Wind is blowing the smoke north past the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center, where teams in Firing Room 4 continue to monitor the shuttle countdown that began Tuesday afternoon.

A hazardous propellant-loading operation is in progress at the launch pad, but the fire is not close enough to it to pose a concern.

A lightning strike that may have occured during storms Tuesday is considered a probable cause of the fire.
IMAGE: Cell phone shot by James Dean.