ST. PETERSBURG — St. Pete Fire and Rescue will send four engines to Santa Rosa County in Florida’s Panhandle to help battle wildfires that have forced evacuations and destroyed homes.
The department is sending a strike team to the area as soon as possible, said spokesman Steven Lawrence. No requests for help have been made yet to Hillsborough or Tampa fire rescue, the agencies said.
Interstate 10 remained closed Thursday morning along a nine-mile stretch east of Pensacola in Santa Rosa County and evacuation recommendations remained in place for thousands of Floridians.
Three fires were burning in northwest Florida on Thursday. The main blaze, dubbed the “Five Mile Swamp Fire,” had grown to 2,000 acres and destroyed nearly 18 homes Thursday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service.
A separate fire, in Santa Rosa Beach, destroyed several dozen structures overnight, according to Walton County Fire Marshal Sammy Sanchez. The fire has now grown to cover over 500 acres and is 60 percent contained.
“We’ll be here all day until this is done,” Sanchez said. He said he hoped the Walton County fire could be 100 percent contained Thursday.
The Hurst Hammock fire in nearby Escambia County had burned 60 acres as of late Wednesday night and was 40 percent contained.
The Five Mile Swamp Fire, the largest fire in the region, started as a prescribed burn Monday but quickly grew out of control by Wednesday. Winds of 15 to 20 mph and dry weather spread the blaze quickly.
As firefighters from throughout the state convened on Florida’s northwest corner, the winds calmed Thursday to 5 mph to 8 mph , said Stephen Miller, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Mobile, Ala.
“We are expecting the dry conditions to continue, but, the good thing is we are expecting winds to be lighter today,” Miller said. “And that was the biggest issue they had Wednesday.”
Firefighters could use the help, but Miller said no rain is likely Thursday. There is a 30 percent chance of rain for Santa Rosa County from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms for the rest of the night, according to the weather service.
Meantime, the Five Mile Swamp Fire is still just 20 percent contained, according to the Forest Service.
"This is a rapidly evolving situation,” Santa Rosa emergency management officials said in a news release. “If you do not feel safe in your home, you should leave. Take your pets with you.”
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St. Pete Fire-Rescue sending help to Pensacola as wildfires spread - Tampa Bay Times
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