World
Over 1,000 homes evacuated as firefighters battle Florida fires

PANAMA CITY, Florida: Huge wildfires in the Florida Panhandle forced veterans in a nursing home to evacuate on Sunday (Monday in Manila) alongside residents of more than 1,000 homes in an area still recovering from a Category 5 hurricane three years ago. Firefighters battled the 9,000-acre (about 3,642-hectare) Bertha Swamp Road fire and the 841-acre (340-hectare) Adkins Avenue blaze, which have threatened homes and forced residents of at least 1,100 houses in Bay County, Florida to flee over the weekend. The Adkins Avenue fire destroyed two structures and damaged another 12 homes on Friday night. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the larger Bertha Swamp Road fire 'a big boy,' at a news conference in Panama City on Sunday afternoon. 'It's moving very quickly.' Also on Sunday, a third fire developed, forcing the evacuation of a 120-bed, state-operated nursing home in Panama City. Public transit was being used to move the residents at the Clifford Chester Sims State Veterans' Nursing Home. Buses also were on standby in case the 1,300 inmates at the nearby Bay County Jail needed to be evacuated to other facilities.