While two wildfires in Gainesville are mostly contained, officials are warning residents to expect new fires for the foreseeable future.
Gainesville Fire Rescue said crews will continue strengthening fire lines behind both fires, located near North Main Street and Northwest 53rd Avenue, and in the Eryn’s Gardens/Hidden Lake area off U.S. 441/State Road 121.
With evacuation orders lifted and no homes or businesses currently threatened, Gainesville Fire Rescue said both fires within city limits remain contained.
Florida Forest Service Public Information Officer Ludie Bond told The Sun on April 20 that the “North Main Street #2 Fire” in northeast Gainesville spans 106 acres and is 25% contained.
Bond said the “SR 121 #2 Fire” covers 25 acres and is 60% contained.
Bond said the National Weather Service in Jacksonville issued a severe fire weather risk warning after April 20 saw humidity levels drop to between 15% and 20% — low for Florida — along with strong wind gusts.
She said the first fire grew “very rapidly,” spreading to the south and east and threatening nearby homes and businesses, which prompted mandatory evacuations. While some residents chose to remain, she said most complied with the order.
Bond said erratic fire behavior caused by shifting winds required a Florida Forest Service helicopter to drop water on a spot fire that ignited in east Gainesville near a GRU facility and CarMax.
“With the fire behaviors spotting like it was, it was a real concern that we weren’t able to catch the fire as it progressed towards these homes and businesses,” Bond said.
Bond said by the time response was made for the first fire, the second fire began. The second fire was located by the Eryn’s Gardens/Hidden Lake area off US-441/121.
She credited rapid coordination and communication among Gainesville Fire Rescue, Alachua County Fire Rescue, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the University of Florida, Gainesville Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol for initial suppression efforts.
Alachua County on April 20 declared a local state of emergency.
Bond said the situation remains active and will require sustained, soaking rainfall to fully extinguish the fires, estimating it could take several weeks — possibly into July.
“We need a tropical depression-type rain event to put these fires completely out,” Bond said.
While the county has been under a burn ban for several months, Bond said no official cause of the fires has been determined, adding that the state has between 20 and 30 feet of decaying vegetation underground.
Citing a historic drought, Bond said as long as fires have oxygen and vegetation to feed on, they can burrow and tunnel underground for weeks or even months.
“We’re seeing erratic fire behavior because vegetation is extremely dry so simple things that you would not think would start a fire, like mowing your grass,” Bond said. “How would mowing your grass start a fire? Well what if your lawn mower blade hits a rock and it throws a spark. Its things that people don’t think that cause a wildfire that are.”
North Main Street remained closed April 20 between Northeast 39th Avenue and Northwest 53rd Avenue, while State Road 121 between U.S. 441 and Northeast 77th Avenue is open to local traffic only.
Additionally, State Road 121 remains closed between Northeast 77th Avenue and County Road 231.
Alachua County Public Schools announced the night of April 19 that, out of an abundance of caution, no outdoor activities would be held during the school day Monday, with those activities rescheduled for a later time.
Residents can stay updated through AlachuaCountyReady.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville faces ongoing wildfire risk amid drought
Reporting by Elliot Tritto, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
