- The wildfire off State Road 26 in east Alachua County reached about 302 acres and became 60% contained by Thursday evening.
- Fire crews used bulldozers, brush trucks, a helicopter, and an airplane to widen containment lines and fight the fire starting Wednesday afternoon east of Gainesville.
The wildfire burning in east Alachua County off State Road 26 is now around 302 acres and 60% contained, as of Thursday evening.
According to a Florida Forest Service release on Thursday, fire activity picked up in the afternoon, when the temperatures rose to around 90 degrees, the humidity was at 30% and the wind was around 5 miles per hour.
Crews on Thursday widened and reinforced containment lines and the Florida Forest Service reported using three large bulldozers, five medium bulldozers, three brush trucks, one helicopter and one airplane as they worked to extinguish the fire.
The fire started on Wednesday afternoon on the north side of SR 26 east of Gainesville. Traffic was initially closed along SR 26 from County Road 234 in Windsor to US Highway 301 in Orange Heights, but the Florida Highway Patrol reopened SR 26 on Thursday morning.
By Thursday morning, the fire had grown to 400 acres and was 30% contained.
