Wildfires in Florida forced many residents in the state to evacuate. The fires spread quickly because of the dry vegetation in the state.
“The blazes across Florida’s Panhandle on Monday scorched 4,800 hectares (12,000 acres) of land and were 10 percent contained as the fire burned near communities east of Panama City”, said Joe Zwierzchowski, “Florida Forest Service” spokesperson
He added that the strong winds experienced helped quickly spread the fires. However, increased humidity and cloud cover should play a part in taming the fire.
According to the firefighters, although the fires were huge and spread quickly, there were no fatalities or injuries. The fire fighting team used helicopters to extinguish the fire, which was a great help. It was a swift operation that was successful.
According to experts and most people, dead timber and vegetation from “hurricane Michael” in 2018 fuelled the fire. The hurricane described as a “category 5 storm” left behind more than seventy-two million tonnes of thick, dead vegetation dried by the hot and dry conditions.
“We have been bracing for this,” said Zwierzchowski. “Our worst-case scenarios have come to fruition.” He further said that the state took precautions measures by installing fire lines of roughly 965km. Such a precaution helps prevent and reduce the spread of wildfires.
More than seven hundred residents were displaced from their homes, and patients in Panama’s nursing home got evacuated because of the smoke.
Wildfires occur during dry conditions in some of the states in the U.S. Texas is one of the states that has suffered from wildfires.
“More than 200 firefighters and emergency workers from around the Panhandle worked overnight to strengthen containment lines and protect homes.” Officials said.
“There are currently wild fires in my home town of Panama City, Florida. If you could, please keep those folks in your thoughts and prayers.”
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