TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — First responders from Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando Counties will join a strike team to fight ongoing wildfires in northwest Florida. Over the past week, dozens of fires have displaced hundreds of people and burned thousands of acres of land.
According to a Facebook post from Hernando County Fire & Emergency Services, a team of first responders will head to Bay County to assist in the 1,400-acre brush fire that has caused the evacuation of over 600 homes.
“Captain Gibson, Driver Engineer Brandt, FF Kyle Briscoe, and FF Vogel of Engine 7 joined up with Engines from Pasco, The Villages, and Pinellas County to render aid,” the post stated.
The crew will be deployed for up to five days.
Wildfires in Bertha Swamp, Dogwood Way, and Adkins Avenue have burned across 9,400 acres in Bay, Gulf and Calhoun counties, according to a press release from the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
On Saturday, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order to expand the State of Emergency to Calhoun and Gulf counties.
