Firefighters and rescue crews were battling two massive wildfires in northwest Florida on Sunday, an area that has yet to fully recover from the hurricane that struck more than three years ago.
Two large fires were burning: the Bertha Swamp Road covered 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares) and the Adkins Avenue covered 1,400 acres (567 hectares).
Both threatened nearby homes and led to the evacuation of Bay County residents. The Adkins Avenue Fire destroyed two structures and damaged 12 other homes Friday night. The authorities indicated that on Saturday no houses were burned and no one was injured.
“No homes were damaged today and no injuries to residents or firefighters. This is a huge win for Bay County!” the local fire agency wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
The authorities emphasized that they did not know when the inhabitants will be able to return to their homes.
“It is not safe to return home at this time. Please be patient as firefighters battle these fires,” the fire agency posted online.
The Adkins Avenue Fire has been burning since Friday and was 30% contained as of Sunday, though it prompted the evacuation of at least 600 homes.
The Bertha Swamp Fire started in Gulf County on Friday and spread to Bay County and Calhoun County on Saturday, forcing more evacuations. By Sunday it was 10% contained.
Hurricane Michael in 2018 caused 16 deaths and caused about $25 billion in damage in the United States, in addition to knocking down about 72 million tons of trees, which have served as fuel for the most recent fires, according to the Florida Forest Service. .
There are currently nearly 150 fires covering more than 12,100 acres (4,900 hectares) throughout Florida.