Wildfires ravaging County
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Recent wildfire outbreaks have local officials on their toes hoping that more of Santa Rosa County's forests don't go up in smoke. Wildfires raged nationwide as rainfall decreased locally, prompting county officials to pass a comprehensive burn ban.

Officials with the Naval Live Oaks reserve near Gulf Breeze felt confident last week that the 1,300-acre park would not fall victim to unwary flames. The Gulf Islands National Seashore park Superintendent Jerry Eubanks said prescribed burns carried out by his department in March should keep wildfires at bay. Eubanks said the park, which is under federal jurisdiction, also enacted a temporary burn ban for the Naval Live Oaks reserve and the Fort Pickens Park.

"Should we have a fire, [the prescribed burns] definitely reduce the risk," Eubanks said. "That's their main purpose along with protecting the area's natural ecology."

Eubanks said there is an abundance of dead trees in the Fort Pickens Park on Pensacola Beach but that both parks had been spared any fire outbreaks as of press time.

"Our biggest concern is Shoreline Park," said Gulf Breeze Fire Chief Shane Carmichael. "Because the city is so strapped for cash we can't take any pro-active steps to remove debris from that area… When we respond to a brush fire in that area we send everything we have. Time is the enemy in that area."

Carmichael said there was one small brush fire near the intersection of Beach Drive and McLane Road May 19.

The northern parts of Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties have not been as lucky.

"We've had a lot less activity here than other parts of the state," said Ben Wolcott with the Florida Division of Forestry's Black Water District. Wolcott, who works in the state forestry district that covers Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Counties, said local officials have eliminated the number one cause for forest fires - yard debris fires.

"The largest component of wildfire ignition is human activity," Wolcott said. "The single greatest cause in the district and in the state is escaped yard trash fires."

Wolcott said his department has dealt with three major fires over the course of the last three weeks and his resources are now spread thin by other wildfires throughout the state. Wolcott said the largest of these fires occurred in northern Escambia County May 12. By the time the blaze, dubbed the mother's day fire, was mostly contained it had consumed close to 400 acres. Lightning was determined to be the cause of the fire. The next largest fire in the area began close to four weeks ago near Tar Plant Road in Milton, south of Old Highway 90. Wolcott said the blaze was in a remote area and destroyed 14 acres of woodland and was probably caused by an uncontrolled yard debris fire. The third incident occurred in the Avalon Boulevard area and devoured approximately 8 acres.

Wolcott voiced concerns that 2007 could see an active wildfire season not experienced in this area since 1998. According to state forestry numbers, 4,893 wildfires damaged or destroyed 330 structures and charred over 506,000 acres statewide that year. So far this year, 2,392 fires have burned 418 structures and eviscerated over 250,000 acres throughout Florida. State Forestry Public Information Officer Jim Harrell said in 1998 the bulk of the structures were houses and this year they have been highly concentrated hunting camps and mobile homes.

"Just a little bitty fire can burn houses down," said Santa Rosa County's Emergency Services Coordinator Brad Baker. "You're responsible for any fire you start that gets out of control."

According to Walton County officials, 1,035 acres were destroyed by a fire that was finally contained May 9. Another border-crossing fire near Lake City destroyed 109,000 acres in Florida and 139,813 acres of swampland in Georgia.

Florida was not alone in battling forest fires this month as fires have broken out in New Jersey, Montana, and California.