NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — Tallahassee firefighters have deployed to Putnam County to help contain the Railroad Complex fire, which has already burned more than 4,000 acres.
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More than 4,000 acres have burned in a Putnam County wildfire as conditions across the region remain dry and dangerous.
Firefighters from Tallahassee are on the ground in Putnam County working as part of a statewide response to contain the Railroad Complex fire, which is one of the largest brush fires in Florida. The Tallahassee Fire Department deployed crews to help prevent the level of destruction seen in South Georgia.
Travis Walker, Deputy Chief of Operations, said the goal is to get ahead of the fire before it grows out of control.
"Putnam County, the fire right now is one of the larger in the state, so they’ve requested resources to go there. They’re trying to keep that fire from becoming a fire of the equal size of the ones in South Georgia right now. So they’re trying to get ahead of it to keep that from happening," Walker said.
The deployed crews are part of a strike team working long hours with specialized equipment designed to move quickly through wooded areas.
Walker said dry conditions are making the situation worse, and even small mistakes can spark major fires.
"It’s our extreme drought that we’re going through right now. People do not regard how dry it is, and the simple thing is throwing out a cigarette butt can cause the start of a wildfire. People not regarding the burn ban rules and still burning… they don’t take into account how dry it is and how fast those little brush fires can get away from them," Walker said.
In Tallahassee, officials said staffing levels remain full, with crews backfilling positions while others are deployed.
The current deployment is expected to last up to a week, with additional resources on standby if conditions worsen.
As firefighters continue to monitor conditions, they are urging residents to follow burn bans and take fire safety seriously.
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