UPDATE: Brush fire near Wewahitchka reported contained
UPDATE 8 P.M. CENTRAL —
The fire is reported as being contained at this time.
ORIGINAL REPORT —
According to the Florida Forest Service, a brush fire has been reported north of Highway 22 near Wewahitchka.
At this time, FFS reports that the fire is 0 acres and 0 percent contained. It is being closely monitored at this time.
The fire, currently named the Road 5 fire on FFS’s website, is causing a smoke screen across Highway 22. Officials say that smokey smells have been reported in Overstreet and surrounding areas due to higher than normal wind speeds of about 35 miles per hour.
According to Gulf County Emergency Management Director Matt Herring, the fire resulted from a controlled burn last week, which reignited causing a small, low fire.
Windy conditions, brought by Hurricane Ian which made landfall in southwest Florida late this afternoon, have created an elevated fire risk in Northwest Florida, where rainfall has been minimal for about two weeks.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.