Panhandle wildfire drives bipartisan leadership response from Ron DeSantis, Nikki Fried

Image via FDACS/@NikkiFriedFL

In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, the Governor and one of his chief opponents for re-election came together to present a united front in response to a disaster in Bay County.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried were among the many state leaders who toured Panama City over the weekend in response to the Adkins Road Wildfire.

The fire is currently 35% contained and holding at 1,400 acres, according to a Sunday morning update from the Florida Forest Service. Damage has been inflicted on two homes; another dozen have been destroyed. Hundreds of homes have been evacuated thus far.

The Bertha Swamp Road Fire is 10% contained across 8,000 acres and showed “increased activity” early Sunday. Bear Creek area residents were put under mandatory evacuation orders Saturday a the fire spread from its origin in Gulf County into By and Calhoun Counties, driven by strong winds and burning through thick, dead leaves and vegetation left behind from Hurricane Michael.

The coordinated state response, formalized by an executive order declaring a state of emergency from Gov. DeSantis Friday, includes resources and manpower from the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Forest Service.

DeSantis said fire engines and National Guard members are ready, but credited quick and able local response with “making sure most of these people have homes to go back to.”

“It’s clearly not fully contained,” DeSantis said, “but they’ve made a big difference already.”

Even pets have been saved, DeSantis noted, and shelters for residents are pet-friendly also.

The Highway Patrol is helping the Bay County Sheriff’s Office with evacuations, and is monitoring the roads in case closure is needed, DeSantis said.

A Red Flag warning is in effect for much of the Panhandle and the Big Bend, DeSantis said, meaning conditions are favorable for fires today throughout the region.

The Governor noted that timber, left over from Hurricane Michael’s destruction in 2018, is a fire risk here and going forward, citing local concern about the problem.

CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis, who is from the area, urged “patience” from his neighbors, agreeing about the timber risk.

“There’s fuel on the ground from Hurricane Michael,” Patronis urged.

Fried likewise discussed the devastation from Hurricane Michael in 2018, still unresolved in terms of clearing plant debris.

“We have a lot of downed trees, a lot of drought,” Fried said, urging people “not to burn in (their) backyards.”

Fried noted that the department has been short-staffed and reliant on contractors to handle land clearing, which has presented one difficulty in removing that flammable material even though it’s nearly four years since the storm.

Permits for outdoor burns are not available now on the Panhandle, nor will they be anytime soon. Fried noted a “high alert” is in effect for the region’s fire propensity through June as of now.

U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn and state Reps. Brad Drake and Jay Trumbull, all Republicans who represent the area, were also on hand at the press conference Saturday.