Smoke Flows Into Downtown Jax

More than 270 wildfires are burning across Florida, but the haze blanketing Jacksonville on Friday was mostly from a fire burning in Flagler County -- 60 miles south of town.

Flagler County firefighters, joined by the Department of Forestry, three engines from Duval County and support from other neighboring agencies, are battling four fires, the largest of which has blackened 2,800 acres near Espanola. It was only 25 percent contained as of midday Friday.

While no evacuations were ordered in Flagler County, authorities want homeowners to be prepared.

?If the word is given to evacuate, pay attention and get out because we are dealing with very volatile conditions with this fire," said John Ward with the Incident Management Team.

Channel 4 meteorologist Richard Nunn said the smoke in the Jacksonville area was from fires burning in Flagler and other counties to the south that followed the St. Johns River to Jacksonville, where it spread out over town.

"High pressure right over us and calm winds caused the smoke to go to the lowest, coolest spot -- the river -- and it followed it north," Nunn said.

Nunn said there was no air quality alert issued for Jacksonville, but the National Weather Service did issue statements for Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties in Florida, and Charlton and Ware counties in Georgia.

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The NWS advisory urged residents with respiratory ailments that can be triggered by smoke to consider staying indoors and motorists should exercise caution due to possible sudden visibility reductions and intermittent road closures near the wildfires.

Channel 4 chief meteorologist John Gaughan said that while the winds may shift, because fires are burning north, west and south of Jacksonville, people in northeast Florida are likely to experience smoke for the next few mornings.

"I've got to fight for every breath, and I can't really do any excess walking." Jean Craft said Friday morning.

Jay Frazier was fighting for air while out fishing for crab along the Southbank Riverwalk.

"It's like someone standing over you smoking cigarettes, just blowing it in your face," Frazier said.

Andy Meadows said he's lived in Jacksonville for 46 years and said, "I've never seen nothing like this."

Dr. Vandana Bhide of the Mayo Clinic said people with chronic illnesses should try to avoid prolonged exposure to smoke by staying indoors and avoiding any exertion.

"If you're having a sore throat, if you're having irritation, if you're having burning, go indoors. Make sure that you're no longer exposed to the irritation," Bhide said. "If you have a filtration system, go ahead and utilize it."

The good news is that the smoke exposure should not do any long-term damage to anyone.

According to the Department of Forestry, there are 200,000 acres actively burning within 50 miles of Jacksonville.

The largest fires in northeast Florida were burning in Putnam and along the border between Baker and Columbia counties.

More than 20 fires have burned in St. Johns County, including a 2 acre fire that burned from the beach to the Intracoastal Waterway in south Ponte Vedra Beach and one that burned itself out on a marsh island in the Palencia neighborhood.

In Baker County, a fire was burned Thursday in a wooded area behind Northeast Florida State Hospital. No buildings were threatened and fire officials said the fire was contained.

Fires in southeast Georgia have consumed nearly 300 square miles over the past six weeks, mostly inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Firefighters said that as hard as county and state workers are battling to contain the fires -- sometimes stopping the fire from reaching homeowners' backyards -- the only thing that will put them out would be some sustained rainfall.

?We need a lot of rain to come and just sit down on us for a while to be able to put these fires out and get our moisture contact back," Ward said.

While he waits for significant rainfall, Flagler County residents like Johnny Brown, will remain worried.

"I bought it in 2008, and I have never seen the fire this close to this neighborhood," Brown said.