The wildfire that broke out Wednesday in Nassau County, destroying two homes was started by a man burning books. Only emergency personnel have suffered injuries from this wildfire, which is also known as the Garfield Road fire. It has managed to burn an estimated 696 acres near Bryceville, about 20 miles west of Jacksonville. The news confirmed Thursday that the wildfire was 80% contained.
Billy Estep, director of emergency management in Nassau County, told reporters at the news conference six other homes had taken damage along with at least 19 sheds, to boot. Firemen will continue to work to put out the fire. The law will continue to look for strong winds predicted for the afternoon, to see if it will help exasperate the fire.
The fire was indeed and accident, according to Billy Estep.
“It was paper. It got away from him,” said Annaleasa Winter of the Florida Forest Service, in a briefing Wednesday night. She also said that in Florida, it is against the law to burn household garbage.
The fire had spread to over five acres of land, being fueled by powerful winds, as a result. The man will be issued a notice of violation and he will be sent a forestry bill and all the equipment personnel that was used to fight the fire. This could possibly cost several thousands of dollars. The man could also be held civilly liable for any damage caused by the fire.
“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,” a civilian told the station.
The last epic wildfire that happened in Nassau County was in 1998.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had an intense fire through the area,” Winter said.
In fact, it was one the largest wildfire losses in history, which costWi about $600 million.
