Florida Forest Service officials say a 400-acre brush fire has forced the evacuation of a neighborhood and threatened or burned up to 15 homes.
- 400-acre brush fire threatens homes in Nassau County
- Fire sparked by man burning books in yard
- Residents in neighborhood near Florida/Georgia line evacuated
Nassau County Emergency Management Director Billy Estop ordered residents of the neighborhood near the Georgia line in northeast Florida to evacuate Wednesday. The fire started when a man started burning books in his yard around 2 p.m. Wednesday. The fire quickly got out of control and spread.
Estop tells television station News 4 Jax (http://bit.ly/2nKx0AI ) that gusty winds fueled the fire, which officials thought they'd contained to about 5 acres. The fire spread to an area Estep described as about a 1/2-mile wide by 2 miles long (3.22 kilometers).
Residents were told to leave their homes immediately.
Officials say the fire was about 50 percent contained.