Massive wildfire still raging in Florida
Pastor Dale Morgan
Massive wildfire still raging in Florida*
LAKE CITY, Fla. (AP) — Firefighters managed to keep a sprawling wildfire
along the Georgia-Florida line in check Monday, though officials warned
that more residents might have to evacuate.
Winds gusted up to 25 mph, and officials said any help from scattered
showers and thunderstorms that were forecast could be offset by
lightning sparking new fires.
About 570 Florida residents already were out of their homes between
Interstate 10 and the Georgia line Monday, and some schools were closed
as a precaution. Columbia County spokesman Harvey Campbell said more
evacuations might be ordered.
"We're telling people to think of it like it's a hurricane ... in terms
of getting prescriptions, paperwork, clothing and ready to move if
conditions warrant," Campbell said.
In Georgia, 15 to 20 homes north of Fargo remained evacuated Monday, and
more residents in the town of a few hundred were told to be ready to
leave and to place sprinklers atop their homes, officials said.
The wildfire was started by lightning more than a week ago and raced
through the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia and into northern
Florida. By Monday, it had burned 102,500 acres in Florida and 139,813
acres of swampland in Georgia — nearly 380 square miles in all.
The fire was 30% contained in Florida and the smoke was beginning to
lift enough for firefighting aircraft to take off after being grounded
all weekend because of low visibility.
"Everything is going good so far. The fires are still within our
containment lines," Jim Caldwell, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest
Service, said Monday. "Our control measures are working thus far."
Smoke from hundreds of fires in the two states has plagued drivers.
Portions of Interstates 10 and 75 were reopened Monday afternoon, though
authorities warned conditions could change. The haze has traveled as far
south as the Miami area, about 340 miles away.
Elsewhere, a blaze feeding on drought-stricken forest in northern
Minnesota was only 20% contained Monday. The fire has burned a combined
93 square miles in Minnesota and Canada.
The fire has destroyed 133 buildings, including 61 homes, in an area
dotted with resorts and lake houses, causing an estimated $3.7 million
in damage, officials said.
Off Southern California, fire crews began heading back to the mainland
after snuffing out isolated hot spots in the backcountry of Santa
Catalina Island. Officials said the fire, which burned 4,750 acres, was
81% contained and posed no threat to the resort community of Avalon.
The fire burned one home and six businesses last week, but no one was
seriously injured.