COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — As wildfires continue to rage in Florida’s Panhandle, local fire departments are chipping in to help put them out.
Crews from Greater Naples Fire and Rescue just arrived home last night from assisting firefighters in Bay County, where the Florida Forest Service said wildfires had grown to more than Thirty-Four Thousand Acres.
Greater Naples Fire sent three engines 500 miles to the north to help out. Those local crews spent five days.
Captain Scott Wilson said his team’s biggest job was protecting the people of Bay County.
“Everywhere we were deployed at, we were there ready to do search and protection at that point in time. The biggest thing was, we were there ready to go in case the wind did shift and pushed it back onto any housing developments."
Greater Naples Fire and Rescue wasn’t the only local agency helping out. Strike teams from the City of Naples Fire-Rescue and North Collier Fire Control also were in Bay County this week to battle the ongoing blazes.
The area did receive rain on Wednesday, which officials said helped control the fires.
