Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage in Florida Panhandle
MILTON, Fla. (AP) — Firefighters in the Florida Panhandle continued battling an erratic fire Thursday that had scorched thousands of acres of woods, razed dozens of homes and forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their neighborhoods.
A stretch of Interstate 10, northern Florida’s main transportation artery, remained closed in both directions near Pensacola because of smoke.
Gov. Ron DeSantis met with
emergency officials at a church parking lot in Milton, which was turned
into staging area, in Santa Rosa County for an hour Thursday before
returning to the state capital of Tallahassee, located about 180 miles
east.
The fire was feeding on stands of pines in forests strewn with dry needles.
Agriculture
Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news conference Thursday afternoon
that fire officials are working around the clock to contain the
wildfires.
“The threat is far from over and there is no rain
forecasted,” Fried said. She asked residents to stay alert and “be ready
for a wildfire impacting their neighborhood.”
In Santa Rosa
County, which is just east of Pensacola, a 2,000-acre fire resulted in
1,100 homes being evacuated Wednesday. Officials said a few of those
residents, in areas south of Interstate 10 have been allowed to return
to their homes. The others were not yet being allowed to return.
Sgt.
Rich Aloy, with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, was patrolling
Wednesday when he and other deputies helped an older couple trapped by a
burning power line. The possibly live wire blocked the two-lane,
tree-lined road as smoke engulfed the area. Aloy said he and his
deputies just happened upon the couple as they yelled for help.
“Right time, right place,” Aloy said.
That
fire began Monday when a prescribed burn by a private contractor got
out of control, Fried said. The conditions created a perfect storm for
fire – low humidity and high winds.
“The weather is really what
will make the difference,” said Ludie Bond, a spokeswoman for the
Florida Forest Service. “In Florida, when we’re seeing the gusty winds,
it’s hurricane season, not necessarily fire season. So the recipe was
just right for this fire to make a huge run.”
On four different
occasions, she said, the fire made a run for busy Interstate 10, the
main traffic artery in northern Florida. Each time, it jumped the
freeway and fanned westward by gusts reaching 40 mph (about 64 kph).
Firefighters were expecting winds to shift and pick up on Friday, adding to the fire’s erratic behavior.
Officials have confirmed 13 homes were destroyed so far in the fire dubbed the Five Mile Swamp Fire.
In
a place accustomed to hurricanes, officials said many residents were
ready to flee when given the word — although scores of people stayed
behind, water hoses in hand, to stand against the fire.
Crews from
other areas of Florida, including Jacksonville, are assisting
firefighters who’ve been working long hours since Monday.
In
neighboring Walton County, a 575-acre fire in Walton County prompted
about 500 people to evacuate. Authorities there said multiple structures
were lost in the fire, which was 65% contained Thursday morning. Fried
said about 33 structures have been damaged so far.
Walton County
Sheriff Michael Adkinson said during a Wednesday night news conference
that those who were asked to leave their home but had no place to go
were sent to South Walton High School.
Almost all of Florida has
had less-than-usual rainfall this year. National Weather Service
meteorologist Jack Cullen told the Tampa Bay Times the dryness helped
fuel the fires Wednesday. Cullen, who is based in Mobile, Alabama, said
the wind is the real culprit.
“What made this (fire) today was the
wind, to go along with the dry conditions and low humidity,” Cullen
said of the fire near Pensacola.
There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.