A fire that razed part of Florida’s forested area destroyed two buildings and caused damage to six homes as well as over 20 sheds and barns. Officials reported on Thursday that the fire resulted from a man who was burning books in his yard. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured during the incident.
The Garfield Road Fire, as dubbed by the Florida Forest Service, burned the 700 acres near Bryceville which is located about 20 miles West of Jacksonville. Officials reported that the fire was 65 percent contained and hoped that it would be over 75 percent controlled come Friday morning. In an interview with the press, Florida Forest Service Spokeswoman Annaleasa Winter said, “Things are looking really good as far as weather, so this is giving our firefighters a big opportunity to make some excellent progress today. The fire has not spread.”
The inferno started on Wednesday at 2 p.m., as a result of a man who was burning his paperback books. According to Annaleasa, burning of garbage is illegal in Florida, and as such, the man was conducting this activity against the law. The fire spread to five acres of tree-covered land as firefighters continued to combat the flames. They thought that they had the fire in control when gusts of winds fuelled the flames to cover even larger tracts of forest land.
Despite the spokeswoman saying that the man who had started the fire was very remorseful and had done so unintentionally, the state will still bill him for the firefighting services and damages caused as a result of the fire. He could also be civically liable for any injuries caused to people around the area as a consequence of the fire. Currently, he has been handed a notice of violation from the state as he awaits the bills from damages on personal homes.
In the wake of the burning forests, an estimated 150 residents in the area had to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere. One victim of the fire told the press of how the fire had spread to his home minutes after he got home and as such he and his family had been forced to evacuate. Recalling the ordeal, he said, “By the time we were pulling stuff out of the house into the trucks, the fire was already taking out (the) gazebo, taking out the pool deck. It was already in the backyard,” Randy Hoke told the station.
The incident was the largest fire in Nassau County 19 years. Fires all across the state of Florida at the time had caused some of the most devastating damages the United States had ever experienced. The cost for these damages in 1998 had amounted to nearly $600 million. Luckily, this man will now have to face such dire damage charges, as the cost so far has been pegged at a few thousand dollars.
Firefighting services will continue in Bryceville for days. Also, authorities will be keeping a tab on the strength and direction of winds in the area in a bid to predict how these conditions could affect the fire.
