Florida Wildfires — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Tom Fawls
Rescue crews are working diligently to get several wildfires burning in the Sunshine State under control. Two of the biggest fires are still causing destruction within the Panhandle.
There are a total of 168 wildfires burning across Florida right now. The biggest of them all is the Bertha Swamp Road fire which has burned nearly 12,000 acres and is 20-percent contained. That fire is near the Adkins Avenue fire which has already made its mark on nearly 850 acres.
A state of emergency has been put into place for three counties, while more than 1,100 homes have already been evacuated.
The larger Bertha Swamp Road fire has been called “a big boy” by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference in Panama City on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s moving very quickly,” he said.
Crews from Central Florida were deployed on Saturday to head to the Panhandle.
“So this is like, you know, some people may like skydiving and that’s their adrenaline rush. So this is their adrenaline rush,” Port Richey Fire Chief Gary Policastri said. “They’ll work day and night. You’ll never get a complainer out here out of the group.”
Deployments like this are what he and the other firefighters “live for,” Chief Policastri added.
Policastri said they are scheduled to remain in the area for seven days but wouldn’t be surprised if they stay for up to 30.
“We’re here for you guys and protect these homes and make sure it doesn’t do any more damage, you know other than to just wildland,” Policastri said.
Officials say that dead trees and vegetation left behind from Hurricane Michael, along with strong gusty winds have made fighting the fires a difficult task. In 2018, Hurricane Michael left behind 72 million tons of destroyed trees that have caused several Bay County wildfires, according to the Florida Forest Service. The hurricane was responsible for about $25 billion in damage in the U.S. and 16 tragic deaths.
On Sunday, a third fire developed, forcing the immediate evacuation of a 120-bed, state-operated nursing home in Panama City. Public transit was used to move the residents at the Clifford Chester Sims State Veterans’ Nursing Home. Buses were also kept on standby in case the nearby Bay County Jail, which holds 1,300 inmates, needed to be evacuated to other facilities.
Local authorities say they do not have a set time for when residents will be able to return to their homes. The county opened a shelter at the Bay County Fairgrounds for all displaced residents.
“I know there has been frustration with people not being able to get back into their homes,” said Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford. “But we have had things that have popped up on a minute’s notice and really caused problems. As soon as we can, we will let people go back.”
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