Florida Wildfires Rapidly Grow, Relief Unlikely: Officials

PANAMA CITY, FL — The Bertha Swamp Road Fire more than doubled in size from Monday to Tuesday, and officials are not optimistic that potential rain in the coming days will be enough to decrease the threat in the Florida Panhandle any time soon, according to a Tuesday update from the Florida Forest Service.

The Bertha Swamp Road Fire now covers more than 28,000 acres outside Panama City, up from around 12,000 on Monday, and containment remains at just 10 percent. The fire is located in the path of Hurricane Michael of 2018, which left acres of downed trees in its wake. The dry, windy conditions combined with the ready fuel source has caused the fire to grow rapidly, officials said.

The fire began in Gulf County but has since spread to Calhoun and Bay counties.

Mandatory evacuations are still in place for people whose homes are in and around the Bear Creek area south and east of US 231, according to authorities. Emergency management officials also are helping with evacuations in the Broad Branch community near Kinard in Calhoun County.

Evacuations for the Adkins Avenue Fire have been lifted as the other two fires in the Chipola Complex have come under better control in the last couple days.

The Adkins Avenue Fire covers 875 acres and is now 80 percent contained, a big improvement from the weekend. The Star Avenue Fire, which started Sunday and forced the evacuation of an area nursing home, is at 275 acres and 80 percent contained. The nursing home evacuation has since been lifted, officials said.

On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced additional resources to support people affected by the fires in Bay, Calhoun and Gulf counties.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and agencies serving the three counties have more than $6.1. million in funding to provide help for eligible families with temporary relocation, including housing, food and transportation.

DEO also is assessing the impact of the fires on businesses in northwest Florida, and businesses can fill out the Business Damage Assessment Survey at FloridaDisaster.biz. The survey will help determine the availability of additional resources, including low-interest loans and grants, according to DeSantis' office.

The Florida Department of Children and Families has opened a Family Resource Support Center to help connect families with community resources and help them apply for home repair and replacement benefits.

"These resources for residents and businesses will help the resilient people of northwest Florida get back on their feet as fast as possible," DeSantis said in the announcement. "We will continue to provide all available state resources for as long as necessary to ensure the community’s full recovery."

More than 1,100 residents have had to evacuate their homes at some point during the spread of the wildfires, and DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for all three affected counties.