LAKE CITY, Fla. -- Aided by rainfall Thursday evening and higher humidity Friday, firefighters made enough progress containing a raging wildfire in north Florida to allow about one-third of those evacuated in Columbia County to return to their homes.

Sheriff Bill Gootee announced Friday morning that people living between Interstate 10 and Burlap Road -- also called county Road 246 -- could return to their homes. County officials estimate the change in the evacuation area allowed more than 500 people to return to 184 homes.

"Certainly it’s good news that some folks are being allowed back home," Columbia County spokesman Harvey Campbell said. "And while they're getting to go back home and life will return to some sense of normalcy, we do ask that they stay alert. With the winds today, a jump is a big threat."

Another 400 to 500 homes between Burlap Road and the Georgia state line remain evacuated. Even though only a handful of people are utilizing a Red Cross shelter at Columbia High School, officials said it will remain open for the "foreseeable future."

Those allowed returning after eight days said nothing like this had ever happened to them before.

"I guess about 10 o'clock at night and they came and they told us it was a mandatory evacuation, and out I went," said Lynnda Davis.

Davis said that while she was not happy to be away from home, knowing hundreds of firefighters were working to save her hope and others gave her confidence that she'd have a house to return to.

"We had a fire truck patrolling here yesterday and that made me feel good." Davis said. "I'm very grateful."

Also Friday, the roadblock on U.S. Highway 441 was also moved north from the I-10 interchange to Lassie Black Road, although Gootee urged people to be careful due to a large number of forestry- and firefighting heavy equipment also using the highway.

While the one-quarter inch of raid that fell on the fire Thursday evening was welcomed, it was a mixed blessing for firefighters.

"The good news is the rain did dampen the area -- did cool some hot spots down -- but, on the other hand, it did prevent the burnout operation from continuing," said Jim Caldwell with the U.S. Forest Service.

The blaze, called the Bugaboo Scrub Fire, has burned more than 400 square miles in three counties along the Florida-Georgia border. Forestry officials estimated that it was 70 percent contained, but they were under no illusions that the firefighter would be over soon.

On Thursday, forestry workers dug 4 feet down into a peat bog and found it burning, reinforcing the fact that it will take many inches of rain over a long period of time until this largest wildfire in Florida history is completely extinguished.

With 188 active fires in 48 Florida, Florida Division of Forestry Jim Harrell said the one near Lake City is the only fire still posing a significant threat.

Hamilton County On Alert

While all the news coming from the fire line Friday was good, threat of the fire spreading just a dozen miles farther west and jumping the Suwannee River caused the state to cancel the Florida Folk Festival planned for While Springs on Memorial Day weekend and has residents of Hamilton County nervous. [Full story]

On Saturday, the Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs -- where the festival is held -- will be temporarily closed to the public.

At last report, the fire had burned within two miles of U.S. Highway 441 -- about 15 miles east of White Springs. If the fire jumped U.S. 441, that would trigger the evacuation of an additional 1,500 homes -- including residents from Hamilton County for the first time.

"Every place in north Florida is just like a tinderbox," said Hamilton County resident Marlene Hilton.

The county's emergency management team held a meeting Thursday evening to keep the community up to date on the fire and what's expected.

While firefighters have made progress containing the wildfire, officials said higher winds and lower humidity in the forecast could cause problems.

"The fire's only four or five miles from us, and it would only take a few minutes for it to jump 441 and get over here," said a concerned resident.

However, fire officials said they don't expect the fire to break its current containment lines and make it to Hamilton County.

"We're trying to make sure we know what's going on," said one resident at Thursday night's meeting.

Lake City has declared a water shortage, asking homes and businesses not to irrigate and to suspend nonessential uses of water to ensure there is enough water for firefighting efforts.