Authorities Searching for Wildfire Answers: A Man Was Seen Running in the Woods During the Blaze in Wright
By Jill Nolin, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
May 11–FORT WALTON BEACH — Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the cause of the brush fire on Air Force property Tuesday that threatened homes in Wright.
The fire has been categorized as suspicious because natural causes have been ruled out thus far, said Mike Spaits, spokesman for the Eglin Air Force Base’s natural resources branch.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Walton County are monitoring two areas where wildfires burned earlier this week.
Eglin’s Range Patrol and the Florida Division of Forestry are investigating what caused the 48-acre fire that threatened homes on Willow Bend Lane and Schneider Drive in Wright.
“It may take several days to determine a potential start,” Spaits said Thursday afternoon.
Investigators believe the fire started near FIM Boulevard and Dove Field Road, said Ocean City-Wright Fire Chief Randy Brown.
Brown said there are several persons of interest and it is just a matter of eliminating them. He added that they would like to talk to a man who was seen running in the woods during the fire.
Brown said investigators want to talk to him as a source of information, not as a suspect.
He is described as being white with black hair and tattoos on both arms. He is about 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
It is believed that transients sometimes use the woods for shelter.
Firefighters are finished working at the scene. A firebreak was plowed around the area that is still smoldering.
“Now it’s just letting Mother Nature do its thing,” Brown said Thursday afternoon.
The rest of the site will either burn out or be extinguished by a significant rain, which doesn’t look likely right now.
The Division of Forestry is also investigating the cause of the fire that burned seven acres and destroyed three homes Tuesday in Seagrove Beach in South Walton County.
Officials are calling the fire “suspicious,” but have not determined how it started.
It could take several days for the investigation to conclude, said Division of Forestry spokesman Bob Rhea.
“We’re spread pretty thin right now,” he said.
Nineteen homes sustained some degree of water damage or smoke damage from blaze, which started at about 1 p.m. Most of the damage was minor.
Firefighters continue to monitor the scene to ensure it does not flare up.
The site of a 1,000-acre wildfire east of Freeport in the Black Creek area is also being monitored. That fire started Monday and was contained by Wednesday evening.
Daily News Staff Writer Heather Civil contributed to this report.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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