PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — Governor Ron DeSantis and other officials said state resources will be made available to assist local efforts to contain a raging wildfire in Bay County.
Saturday morning, WMBB reported the fire, which originated in Springfield, Florida, covered over 1,400 acres of land. At the time of their report, the fire was 39 percent contained.
The wildfire has led to mass evacuations in the Florida Panhandle. As of Saturday morning, residents were not allowed to return home.
Later in the afternoon, officials called for immediate mandatory evacuations on additional residents.
A tweet from WJHG-TV said “All of Springfield east of Transmitter Road, south of U.S. 231, and north of Tyndall Parkway is under immediate MANDATORY EVACUATION. Emergency Services officials say all evacuees can go to the Bay County Fairgrounds.”
DeSantis said the evacuation order will be rescinded once it is deemed safe enough for residents.
“Whenever they say it’s safe,” he said. “But you don’t want to say, ‘Everyone go back,’ and then you have to re-evacuate them.”
Over 200 firefighters from across the region were dispatched to combat the fire while residents fled their home.
According to Desantis, the National Guard ready to deploy to the region if necessary.
State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis also urged residents to make insurance claims now amid the destruction.
