Wildfires Raging in Florida, Georgia and Minnesota
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wildfires Raging in Florida, Georgia and Minnesota*
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
AP-Fox News
Authorities evacuated about 300 homes in north Florida as two fires
totaling 130,000 acres continued to rage on the Georgia-Florida border.
Florida officials warned that they might soon need help if the blazes
grow out of control.
Officials prepared to evacuate staff in Georgia's Okefenokee National
Wildlife Refuge as the largest recorded blaze in state history neared
part of the park. The 107,000-acre blaze was nearing part of the park
that has served as a fire crew command post. Another fire in southern
Georgia covered 40,000 acres and crossed the Florida border.
The smaller fire crossed into Florida on Tuesday and was threatening
Taylor, a small town with one store and no cell phone coverage, said
Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson.
Florida is already under a fire-induced state of emergency, with high
wind and tinder-dry conditions spawning some 210 blazes over 43,500
acres. No injuries have been reported. Only a handful of houses and
other buildings have been destroyed or damaged.
Florida officials issued a ban Tuesday on yard waste burning.
Meanwhile, a wildfire in northern Minnesota has already destroyed 40
homes and buildings, and brush fires in Georgia and northern Florida
have charred more than 200 square miles.
In the Midwest, a wildfire near the Canadian border in northeastern
Minnesota had burned 16,266 acres since it was spotted Saturday. It
destroyed around 40 buildings, including multimillion-dollar homes, and
forced more than 100 people to evacuate.
Authorities said they believe it started at a campsite just outside the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
"There are some houses up there where all there is left is the
foundation," said Leif Lunde of the Cook County Sheriff's Department. No
injuries were reported, but Lunde said about 30 of the burned buildings
were homes or cabins.