Border fires evacuate 300 homes in Florida
Associated Press
Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Authorities evacuated about 300 homes in north Florida on Tuesday as two fires totaling 130,000 acres continued to rage on the Georgia-Florida border. Florida officials warned that they might soon need help if the blazes grow out of control.

Meanwhile, officials prepared to evacuate staff in Georgia's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as the largest recorded blaze in state history neared part of the park that has served as a fire crew command post.

Florida is already under a fire-induced state of emergency, with high wind and tinder-dry conditions spawning about 240 blazes over 50,000 acres.

So far no injuries have been reported, and only a handful of houses have been destroyed or damaged.

"We're beginning to be stretched pretty thin," said Jim Harrell, a state Division of Forestry spokesman. "If the fire from Georgia becomes significant, in other words they don't make headway on it today, then it will be very close to being beyond our capability. We're probably going to have to ask for some help."

There are two fires in southern Georgia less than 10 miles apart _ one covering about 100,000 acres, another burning 30,000 acres. The smaller one had already crossed the Florida border by Tuesday afternoon.

Driving in that fire was difficult, and cars on a north Florida highway needed their headlights to cut through the dense white smoke.

Baker County, Fla., Sheriff Joey Dobson said the fire forced evacuations around Taylor, a small town with one store and no cell phone coverage.

The same town was nearly leveled by fires almost four years ago, he said.

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