Florida wild fires force evacuation of 100 homes
Pastor Dale Morgan
Saturday May 12, 12:48 AM Reuters
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Florida wild fires force evacuation of 100 homes*
By Michael Peltier
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida evacuated people from about 100
houses in the rural northern part of the state on Friday as windswept
brush fires burned in the region.
Forestry officials said fires had burned nearly 83,000 acres (33,200
hectares) of swampland and a destroyed a few hunting huts north of Lake
City, on the fringe of the Osceola National Forest. Smoke from the fire
could be seen 100 miles (160 km) west in the state capital of Tallahassee.
It was by far the largest of 223 brush fires burning in Florida, and
began in Georgia in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge six days
ago. Heavy winds pushed it south into Florida, where it burned a pair of
simple hunting camps but had not destroyed any homes.
"There is a lot of swampland and timberland up there. When it is as dry
as it just gets going and creates its own weather," said Ronda Sutphen,
Florida Division of Forestry's fire prevention officer.
Lightning started many of the fires in Florida, where the winter dry
season was the third-driest on record. Firefighters had hoped a
subtropical storm off Florida's Atlantic coast would soak the state but
it dissipated without bringing any significant rainfall.
"It doesn't look good," Sutphen said.
(Additional reporting by Jane Sutton)