NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – After a massive brush fire that destroyed two homes and 19 structures in the Bryceville area, the Nassau County Board of Commissioners has enacted a burn ban for the county.
The commissioners said that dry conditions have created a state of emergency that prompted the ban, which is on all outdoor burning and is effective through April 7.
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Burning with a Florida Forestry permit is still permitted, along with cooking on barbeque equipment, as long as the grill is monitored.
The announcement of the ban came in just after 5 p.m. Friday, as firefighters were battling a fast-moving brush fire in the county.
The wind-blown brush fire spread from a vehicle fire Friday afternoon and came within 50 feet of seven to 10 Nassau County homes before firefighters could stop the advance of the flames, according to the Florida Forest Service.
Residents in the O'Neil area were asked to leave about 3:20 p.m. Friday while local firefighters and state forestry personnel began to battle the fire along Barnwell and O Neil-Scott roads. That's just north of State Road 200/A1A, near the Lowe's Home Improvement store between Yulee and Fernandina Beach.
The evacuations come just over a week after 150 residents in Bryceville were forced from their homes by a 700-acre fire that was about 96 percent contained, as of Friday. That fire was sparked by an illegal burning of household waste, officials said.