I-95 open, but wildfire continues

First, the good news: I-95 opened Friday, and Memorial Day vacation plans continued.

Now, the bad news: The Jacksonville wildfire that shut down the interstate Thursday is still raging on the Northside, hitting 600 acres Friday afternoon with only 30 percent contained.

The Yellow Bluff Fire, which at points Thursday and Friday had crossed from the east side of I-95 to the west, continued to pose a challenge to firefighters as Jacksonville faced dry, hot weather and as the fire burned in a marsh.

The Florida Forest Service and Jacksonville Fire-Rescue used bulldozers, helicopters, an airplane and a fire engine to try to beat it back. They worked through the night Thursday and Friday. Their efforts helped the Florida Highway Patrol reopen the interstate Friday morning after drivers had spent hours stuck in traffic, trying to head south on the first day of Memorial Day weekend.

Within a few hours, traffic was flowing smoothly through the city, with the one exception being the still smoky area between Pecan Park Road and State Road 200. If smoke again became overwhelming, law enforcement would have to shut the interstate down again.

Last year, about 55,000 cars drove through the affected area on average each day, according to Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Hampton Ray.

Ray said the department won’t know how many drivers were affected until after this weekend, but the interstate wasn’t damaged. “The fire wasn’t close enough and hot enough to damage the roadways,” he said.

The National Weather Service, throughout the day, noted that the dry conditions will continue, and as people celebrate Memorial Day with cookouts and fireworks, there’s a strong risk of more wildfires catching in Northeast Florida.

“That’s a huge issue,” Florida Forest Service spokeswoman Annaleasa Winter said. “And we still have lightning to deal with next month with thunderstorms. We really need people to be extremely cautious.”

Andrew Pantazi: (904) 359-4310