'I can't even imagine what they were thinking:' Santa Rosa wants answers to wildfire
The recent prescribed burn turned wildfire in the Garcon Point area took center stage at the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners meeting Monday evening, with commissioners and residents alike expressing their disdain over how it was allowed to happen.
The fire caused evacuations in the Garcon Point area on Friday and was mostly contained by Saturday evening.
The burn was conducted by the Northwest Florida Water Management District and was meant to thin the undergrowth in an area of roughly 2,000 acres. Shifting winds caused the fire to move outside planned boundaries and threaten homes in the Dickerson City neighborhood.
"I have a hard time understanding when it's red-flag conditions — and in this part of the state when it's been dry, low humidity, and we have had winds for days prior to this fire — for somebody to issue a permit," said Commission Chairman Bob Cole, adding that he wants to conduct a public records request to see who, individually, signed the permit to greenlight the burn.
The 2020 wildfire: Five Mile Swamp Fire: No criminal charges will be filed; drought conditions present on day of fire
State of the Garcon Point fire: Garcon Point wildfire 90% contained, but blaze caused frustration for residents
Many the homes evacuated Friday were also impacted by the Five Mile Swamp Fire two years ago. That fire was also caused by a controlled burn that escaped its boundaries. The 2020 fire lived on for five days, burning 2,300 acres around Garcon Point Road, destroying 14 homes and causing almost $2 million in damages.
"We have people that just dealt with this two years ago. I think PTSD is real. And I think we have a lot of people that either had a very close call or did have some damage last time," said District 5 Commissioner Colten Wright. "But this time, frankly, I can't even imagine what they were thinking."
Looking toward the future, Wright said he wants to request information from the state on policies and procedures in determining the timing of prescribed fires, and said he would like to work with the next state legislator on implementing a mechanism for victims of wildfires so that they are not left financially isolated.
Several Santa Rosa county residents in attendance were equally frustrated.
"Somebody should have, somewhere, at some agency said, 'You know what, this is probably not the best way to do this,'" said a county resident, John Loftis, whose property was a victim in the 2020 fire.
"I'd like people to consider really looking for accountability and looking for people to stand up, be responsible, be willing to learn from their mistakes, and not ignore it," said another county resident, Walt Sly.
Loftis proposed establishing a new citizens advisory group aimed at building a community relationship based around Garcon Point, and Sly suggested cutting some of the trees in the Garcon Point area that he said acted as additional fuel for the fire.
District 3 Commissioner James Calkins took a different approach to the issue, claiming that he believes the fire was set intentionally.
"They're trying to burn our county down. I think it's wrong. And they saw the wind was bad and now they're going, running and denying it. This is why people don't trust our government. They're literally burning our stuff down on purpose," Calkins said, calling the situation "disturbing."
Milton City Councilman Vernon Compton also turned out to the meeting, and spoke to the board about the importance of controlled burns as a whole.
"The goal with that (prescribed) fire is ecological health, wildlife habitat, managing that public land, but one of the major ones is reducing wildfire risk," Compton said, adding that it is an important strategy in managing land in Santa Rosa County.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Prescribed burn turned wildfire frustrates Santa Rosa commissioners
