Florida Wildfire Update: Fires in Santa Rosa and Walton Counties Destroy Homes, Force Evacuations

A wildfire that started Monday had burned more than 2,000 acres in Florida's Panhandle and triggered evacuations of more than a thousand state residents by Thursday morning as two other wildfires raged in the state.

According to the Florida Forest Service (FFS), the Five Mile Swamp Fire in Santa Rosa County was spreading quickly because of high winds and low humidity, with winds recorded at more than 20 miles per hour pushing the flames over a local highway and causing the fire to multiply in size by Wednesday night.

"Deteriorating weather conditions, changes in the wind, a strong north wind and extremely low humidity are allowing this fire to grow," the FFS's Joe Zwierzchowski said during a news conference Wednesday evening. With the fire still in progress, the FFS was not able to confirm how many homes had burned, but Zwierzchowski said during the conference it had affected at least 18 homes.

The fire began Monday when a controlled burn conducted on private land got out of control, the FFS said in a Tuesday news release. The area's initial weather conditions caused the FFS to issue fire warnings in the area.

"Swamp fires such as this are notoriously difficult to fight as dry vegetation on the surface allows the fire to spread rapidly," the FFS said on its second day fighting the blaze, adding that it expected firefighting efforts to continue for several days.

Another fire, in Walton County, was also threatening homes, with more than 500 acres burned and more than 500 structures evacuated. According to reports by Mypanhandle.com, the fire was believed to have started under suspicious circumstances, and the Walton County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday night it expected to make an arrest in connection with the fire soon.

Firefighters were making progress containing a third fire Thursday morning in Escambia County. The blaze has burned approximately 300 acres and was 20 percent contained, Escambia County officials said Thursday morning.

No injuries have been reported in connection with the fires Thursday morning, but the call for residents to turn to evacuation centers did raise concern about the safety of doing so, given the coronavirus restrictions still in place.

While the fires in Santa Rosa and Walton counties are the only two of significant size that have triggered evacuations, the FFS's active wildfire data showed that 52 fires were burning as of Thursday morning. According to the FFS website, at least 1,070 wildfires had been reported in Florida between January 1 and April 26, with more than 15,000 acres burned.