- April 25, 2024
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*The following is adapted from a county press release.
Two days of significant rainfall provided a much needed lull for firefighters in Flagler County, Sunday, June 26.
No new fires were reported and progress was made on the Espanola fire — the largest fire in Flagler, and still the only not 100% contained. The fire is now 70% contained and less active. Firefighters are also continuing to dump as much water as possible on the Espanola fire as part of their mop-up initiative.
However, fire officials warn that the fire threat is not completely gone.
“Our concern is that if we miss a day or two of rain we could be back in the same situation,” Fire Behavior Analyst Duane Weis said.
Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Don Petito said the rain has given Flagler County, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell firefighters a chance to rest.
“Today was a better day than yesterday,” Petito said. “We were able to cut back on the number of task forces on duty. As the week goes on we can continue to scale back if we continue to get rain.”
The forecast calls for the regular summer pattern rainfall for the next week. Slightly dryer air is moving in, but the afternoon showers are predicted to continue.
The lull in new fires was good news for the firefighters since the lightning that came with the rain spawned 13 new fires Friday and five more on Saturday. Across the state there were 14 new fires that burned 51.8 acres.
As the wild lands fire Red team phases out and the Gold team assumes the administration, Public Information Officer Todd Schroeder is heading home Monday. His replacement, Bill Korn, will be the Division of Forestry’s new local information officer.
