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Wildfires are consuming more than a square mile of forest as 50 fires burn throughout Northeast Florida, including a fire in Nocatee that came within 20 feet of homes, according to the Florida Forest Service.

Greg Dunn, senior forester, said three bulldozers plowed about two miles of fire lines in the Nocatee area to contain the 8-acre fire.

Storms soaked parts of Northeast Florida Sunday night, although it was a mixed bag for fire officials. While the rain was helpful, lightning bolts compounded the problem by igniting more fires.

Of the 50 fires burning 720 acres in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties, 37 of them have been started by lightning, according to the Forest Service.


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© Steve Nelson
Baker County has 170 acres burning in three fires. Clay County has seven fires burning 76.3 acres. Duval County has 123 acres with 13 fires. Nassau County has just 1 fire across 1.3 acres. Putnam County has 94 acres in 10 fires. St. Johns County has 16 fires burning 254.9 acres.

Dunn said residents smelled the smoke Sunday in the Nocatee area, but didn't see any flames and didn't notify authorities until the next day after seeing the fire. Dunn said people living near wooded areas who smell smoke but don't see a fire should still notify law enforcement — especially after a lightning storm.

He said to call 911 if the flames appear to be advancing toward property, but otherwise a non-emergency line would be appropriate. He said local law enforcement will notify the Forest Service who will put a plane in the air to spot any fires in the area.

Angie Enyedi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said last week Northeast Florida had atypical weather as it was hot and dry. That could have contributed to the spike in wildfires. This week has seen a return to normal as humidity levels have returned to what is expected, she said.

Almost all of the reported fires are fully contained, and not a single fire is below 80 percent contained, according to information released Monday night.