VIDEO: On Wednesday, a controlled burn got out of control in Panama City Beach, causing a 50-acre fire on Highway 79 and forcing the closure of the entire highway. Crews from several local agencies, including the Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, Bay County Sheriff’s office, Panama City Beach Police Department, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Florida Forest Service, worked together to contain the fire. Forestry crews worked overnight and say that the fire is now 95% contained. Officials said the fire became an escaped pile burn after an authorized burn spread outside of the contained area, forcing forestry fire ranges to bring in five tractors to get it under control.
On Thursday, crews worked on the final stage of suppression, where they extinguished and cold-trailed any remaining hot spots or embers along the fire’s edges and inside the burn area to prevent re-ignition. “Today we’re mopping up, trying to cool off the fire’s edge, all the way up to 50 to 100 feet in, also the contractor is here widening up the fire breaks so there are no more containment issues,” said Aaron Haugan, Forest Ranger for the Florida Forest Service.
The fire forced the closure of all four north and southbound lanes on Highway 79 for over an hour on Wednesday, then reopened and briefly closed again early Thursday morning. “The decision to close the lanes is when we consider it unsafe for motorists to pass through and vehicles due to the dense smoke and or fog, it causes visibility issues which can cause severe crashes and other issues that we don’t want to see,” said Sargeant Ryan Brown with the Florida Highway Patrol.
Linda Hill lives at the Bayside at Ward Creek neighborhood on the West end of Panama City Beach. She says she’s used to controlled burns, but this one got out of hand. “It was scary, ashes all over our backyard, our car, everything, so it was a little too close for comfort,” said Hill. “Then it started to get more and more, and it got a little close, so we came home, and then the police came, getting ready to evacuate us.”
PCB Fire Rescue issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Bayside and Breakwater at Ward Creek neighborhoods when the fire started as a precaution, but it was lifted on Wednesday at around 6:30 p.m. “I was going to go on a run, and they actually ended up closing off the road here, and I was a little scared as we heard the cops talking about not letting the fire jump over the street,” said Juan Hormazabla, a resident of Bayside at Ward Creek. “It was a little nerve-wracking, but I was pretty confident that all the police and firefighters that were coming through were able to handle it.”
Hill said her daughter couldn’t make it home Wednesday night. “My daughter couldn’t get home, so she ended up just getting a hotel room over by Pier Park because she had to go back to work today, so she didn’t get home in time to have a good night’s sleep,” said Hill. FFS said that smoke will still be settling in on Thursday as the temperature drops and humidity rises, so the Florida Highway Patrol is monitoring Highway 79. Troopers are asking drivers to be cautious when driving by.
