May 7, 2007
Starke, Florida
Photographer states :: Fire Erupted near Starke, FL 5-7-07
BY DAVID ROYSE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE -- Residents of about 35 homes threatened by wildfire were allowed to return Monday, but other evacuations remained in windy, parched Florida.About 260 separate fires were burning more than 20,545 acres in the state, said Jim Harrell, a spokesman for the state Division of Forestry.About 20 homes near Freeport in Walton County in the Panhandle were evacuated as a 1,200-acre fire threatened the neighborhood. Hundreds of miles away, three dozen residences in Lake County near the Wekiva River were also evacuated. That order was lifted after crews controlled a 1,000-acre blaze that crept within a quarter-mile of some homes, Lake County spokesman Chris Patton said.Officials say conditions across the state are critical, with humidity at dangerously low levels inland and winds gusting over 20 mph. Hundreds of residents are on standby to evacuate, and Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency last week.
