WAKULLA COUNTY, FL — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife employees were alerted to a wildfire on refuge property Tuesday afternoon and quickly swung into action. The fire is now 90% contained, and they are continuing to monitor it.
- Fire crews with the refuge and Florida Forest Service have been on the scene of this fire since Tuesday afternoon.
- There is no known cause or start time for the fire.
- Watch the video below to learn more about this fire and how the refuge is handling the situation.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Crews are monitoring what’s left of a wildfire here in Wakulla County. How the fire started and when it started are unknown, but public safety was their first priority when trying to stop it.
This fire burned around 144 acres of national refuge land about a half a mile from Lighthouse Road along Highway 98 in Wakulla County. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service was made aware of this fire around 3 pm Tuesday afternoon and had it mostly contained by 10 p.m.
The crews are calling the fire about 90% contained, as there are some hot spots. Jon Wallace, who's with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says they’re still monitoring.
"We do have a full crew out there right now that's steadily working, making sure the fire is held to its current footprint and doesn't spread any further than it already has," said Wallace.
The wildfire is what's called a grade-six fire. According to Wallace, the low temperatures and lighter winds this week made it harder to detect.
Even though they were aware around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, he thinks it could have started that morning or even as far back as Monday night.
He also says that the ongoing drought conditions contributed to this fire. The current drought monitor has 99.12% of Wakulla County in the severe drought category.
Wallace says that regardless of the shutdown, the fire crews at the refuge have continued to work to keep people safe in the refuge.
"So ensuring public safety is huge for us. It's huge for the Fish and Wildlife Service and for the fire service as a whole," explained Wallace. "And so our response to this fire really wasn't different than it would have been two months ago or three months ago. We came out, we contained the fire to the smallest possible size, and we worked with all of our cooperators in this efficient system that's built here in Florida to make sure the public was safe."
They hope the fire will be 100% contained by Wednesday.
They say they are working with the Florida Highway Patrol to monitor the remaining smoke should winds push it onto Highway 98.
ORIGINAL:
ABC 27 is learning more information regarding a wildfire that's happening in Wakulla County.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official says the fire began sometime Tuesday morning, possibly the night before, in a remote wooded area about a half mile east of St. Marks River, near the intersection of US 98 and Lighthouse Rd.
They say it's 90% contained and that they’re still monitoring some hot spots that could flare up.
The official says the low temperatures and lighter winds made it hard for the fire to be seen. They said the Southwest winds are pushing smoke across US 98.
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