Two massive wildfires burning in an area of the Florida Panhandle became three late Sunday, adding a veterans nursing home to the growing list of evacuated dwellings.
The Florida Forest Service said Monday that evacuation orders, affecting more than 1,000 homes, caused by the Bertha Swamp Road Fire and Adkins Avenue Fire would remain in place.
Both fires started Friday. The Bertha Swamp Road Fire on Monday was about 12,000 acres and 20 percent contained, while the Adkins Avenue Fire was about 841 acres and 40 percent contained, according to Bay County, Florida, Emergency Services.
A third fire, the Star Avenue Fire, started Sunday and was 250 acres and 45 percent contained Monday, according to the Florida Forest Service. The fire forced the evacuation of the 120-bed Clifford Chester Sims State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Panama City.
All three fires are now being referred to as the Chipola Complex, according to officials.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the larger Bertha Swamp Road fire “a big boy” at a news conference in Panama City on Sunday afternoon, saying “it’s moving very quickly.”
The Bertha Swamp Road Fire “has shown extreme activity for two days as steady winds pushed the fire through thick, dry, and dead trees and vegetation left behind from Hurricane Michael,” according to a statement from the Forest Service. “… Today will bring much of the same winds but an increase in humidity and cloud cover could help reduce intensity.”
Hurricane Michael in 2018 was directly responsible for 16 deaths and about $25 billion in damage. It left behind 72 million tons of destroyed trees that have provided fuel for the Bay County wildfires, according to the Forest Service. There are 171 wildfires burning more than 15,000 acres throughout the state.
The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
