FL Wildfires Grow, Evacuations Include Nursing Home

PANAMA CITY, FL — A third fire has been added to the complex making up the Florida Panhandle wildfires, the Florida Forest Service said in an update Monday.

The new fire — called the Star Avenue fire — ignited Sunday, covers about 250 acres and is 45 percent contained, authorities said. It started near Tram Road and Star Avenue, and it forced the evacuation of Clifford Chester Sims State Veterans Nursing Home in Panama City.

The nursing home was evacuated using public transit, according to The Associated Press.

Combined with the Bertha Swamp Road fire and Adkins Avenue fire, more than 13,000 acres are affected by the Chipola Complex fires. Across the state, 171 wildfires are burning across about 15,000 acres, according to the Florida Forest Service.

The Bertha Swamp Road fire covers an estimated 12,000 acres and is 10 percent contained. The fire showed high intensity over the weekend as high winds and readily available dead and dry vegetation left by Hurricane Michael in 2018 fueled the blaze from Calhoun County into Gulf and Bay counties, authorities said.

Similar high winds are expected Monday, but increased humidity and cloud cover could help lower the fire's intensity, officials said.

Evacuations are still in place for people around the Bear Creek area south and east of U.S. Highway 231, and all evacuation orders for the Adkins Avenue fire also remain in place, authorities said. There is no timeline for when residents will be allowed to return home.

Hurricane Michael, which struck the Florida Panhandle as a Category 5 hurricane, left behind 72 million tons of trees that have provided fuel for the wildfires, according to the Florida Forest Service. The hurricane was directly responsible for 16 deaths and about $25 billion in damage in the U.S.

Gov. Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 22-55 on Saturday, which extended the state of emergency outlined in Executive Order 22-54 from one to three counties in the Panhandle — Bay, Calhoun and Gulf.

DeSantis called the larger Bertha Swamp Road fire “a big boy” at a news conference in Panama City on Sunday afternoon. “It’s moving very quickly.”

The Florida Highway Patrol is assisting local law enforcement with evacuations and other response operations, DeSantis said.

DeSantis alluded to injuries suffered by some first responders in the news conference, but Florida Emergency Services in Bay County refuted that information in a Facebook post Monday morning.

"Contrary to national media reports, there are NO fatalities and NO injuries on the Chipola Complex wildfires in Bay County," the post stated. "All first responders are safe."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.