Hundreds more flee as Florida Wild Fire rages*

By William M. Welch, USA TODAY

Firefighters pushed back Tuesday against a massive wildfire along the
Florida-Georgia border that jumped a containment line and forced
hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.

Thunderstorms were forecast for most of the state today, but
firefighters worried they would not be enough.

"It is so hot and dry, there is no moisture whatsoever, and the winds
are our biggest concern," said Nina Barrow, a U.S. Forest Service
spokeswoman at the fire command center at Olustee, Fla.

Steady winds off the water were forecast to continue today.

Approximately 725 homes have been evacuated in the Florida border area,
but firefighters have managed to keep the flames from destroying any
structures, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The latest evacuations began Monday night after the fire line was
breached, threatening homes west of U.S. 441, Barrow said.

The blaze raced through the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia and
into Florida after being started by lightning more than a week ago. By
late Tuesday, the fire had burned approximately 250,000 acres — much of
it swamp and timber owned by the federal government, state governments
and lumber companies.

"It's a lot of swampland in there on the Georgia side," said Marlette
Lacey, spokeswoman for the Joint Fire Information Center at a command
center at Waycross, Ga. "It makes it harder to get to, to try and contain."

The fire has consumed 110,500 acres in Florida, where it is 50%
contained, fire officials said. In Georgia, where nearly 140,000 acres
have burned, the fire remains only 15% contained, Lacey said.

Smoke lifted enough to open Interstates 10 and 75 in Florida. Drivers
were warned that periodic closures were possible.

The dry gusts of wind have whipped up other fires. The National
Interagency Fire Center reported seven active fires in Georgia, burning
283,617 acres, and 14 in Florida, burning 179,608 acres.

Thousands of firefighters were battling the blazes, aided by helicopters
and tanker airplanes dropping water and fire retardant.

Winds were blowing smoke to the west, where it was visible in
Montgomery, Ala., and beyond, said Scott Unger, meteorologist with the
National Weather Service.

Other wildfires were keeping firefighters busy across the country. One
fire has burned 117 square miles in northern Minnesota and Canada,
destroying more than 100 cabins and other small structures.

In New Jersey, a wildfire started by a jet flare burned 11,000 acres of
woodlands, forced thousands of people from their homes and closed down
major roadways, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

Kryn Westhoven, a spokesman for the state Department of Military
Affairs, said the fire was caused by a flare dropped from an F-16
fighter on a training mission.

"Usually they burn out before they hit the ground; this one didn't,"
Westhoven said.

Residents from several developments in Ocean County, including several
senior housing complexes in Barnegat, were evacuated.

Contributing: Gary Maitland, Montgomery, Ala.; Bob Swanson in McLean,
Va.; Asbury Park (N.J.) Press; and wire reports