GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - A brush fire burning through commercial timber lands north of Gainesville kept hundreds of  people out of their homes on Sunday, officials said.

 The blaze ignited Saturday in dry brush and had charred more than 3,000 acres by midday Sunday, forcing some 500  residents out of homes in the Seminole Woods, Hidden Lake and Buck Bay subdivisions.

 There were no reports of injuries or damage to buildings, said David Donnelly, assistant emergency manager for Alachua  County. Gainesville, a town in north-central Florida, is home to the University of Florida, the state's largest university.

"The closest the fire has come to any residence is about a quarter of a mile,'' Donnelly said.

 Florida is entering the heart of its dry season, when wildfires are common. Two years ago brush fires burned hundreds of  thousands of acres in central and north Florida, forcing massive evacuations along the east coast.

 About 90 percent of the blaze was contained, Donnelly said.

 "It's not necessarily a threat to Gainesville but still a concern to people north of the city,'' he said.