
Bay County, Florida, declares state of emergency as wildfire grows to more than 800 acres
CNN
More than 600 homes have been evacuated as a fast-moving wildfire in Bay County on the panhandle of Florida prompted authorities to issue a state of emergency.
The Adkins Road fire has burned more than 800 acres (1.25 square miles) and is growing, the Florida Forest Service tweeted.
"600 homes have been evacuated. More than a dozen @FLForestService tractor/plow units are on-scene, multiple helicopters as well as resources from county & local fire departments," the agency added.

More than two decades ago, on January 24, 2004, I landed in Baghdad as a legal adviser, assigned an office in what was then known as the Green Zone. It was raining and cold, and my duffle bag was thrown into a puddle off the C-130 aircraft that had just done a corkscrew dive to reach the runway without risk of ground fire. Young American soldiers greeted me as we piled into a vehicle, sped out of the airport complex and then along a road called the “Highway of Death” due to car bombs and snipers.












