Wildfire near Jones Swamp grows to 70 acres, 90 percent contained

Update 9 p.m.:

There is a line around the fire, and it is 90 percent contained at 70 acres, according to an update at about 9 p.m. from the Florida Forest Service.

Crews are leaving for the night but will return in the morning to assess the situation, mop up and improve lines.

Update 8:05 p.m.:

The fire is about 90 percent contained, according to an update shortly after 8 p.m. It is still about 70 acres.

Update 7 p.m.:

Fire crews dumped water from helicopters and dug trenches to keep flames away from neighborhoods as they battled a west Pensacola blaze that grew to more than 70 acres by late Monday.

The fire began at about 2 p.m. in a wooded area near the Weatherstone neighborhood off of Gulf Beach Highway.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m., the blaze was about 80 percent contained and appeared to be moving away from the neighborhoods it had threatened earlier, said Joe Zwierzchowski, a spokesman for the Florida Forest Service.

Firefighters were expected to work into the night as they battled flare ups and worked to fully contain the blaze, he said.

Late in the afternoon Monday, a forest service helicopter dropped hundreds of gallons of water to cool hot spots that were continuing to pop up around neighborhoods.

It was unknown what caused the blaze, Zwierzchowski said.

Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies went door to door in the Weatherstone neighborhood Monday afternoon encouraging people to leave as the fire in the Jones Swamp area grew and neared their homes. Many packed some belongings and left; others watched as the fire neared.

Marie Foster, president of the neighborhood association and a teacher at Warrington Middle School, was in class when her husband called to say their home was in danger of catching fire.

Foster left the school and made her way to the neighborhood.

"I am thankful our house made it," she said later Monday as she and other residents gathered in a street to watch the fire crews. "I want to hug a firefighter. I just feel so blessed."

Lianne Bush, a Pensacola paramedic, was off duty when she noticed police cars racing by her house and heard there was a fire nearby. Bush was worried about her mother who lived closer to the fire in a subdivision off Sedgefield Drive.

"I contacted my mom and she was asleep 'cause she had dental work this morning," Bush said. "I contacted her via phone. She wasn’t alert enough, she’s on oxygen. So I then came over here to get to her and I got stopped at Gulf Beach and Fairfield by police, told them their situation, that I’m their only way of help."

Bush was eventually allowed to pass through the barricades, but it took her about 30 minutes to travel just four miles up the road to her mom's house.

Another resident in the Sedgefield Drive area, Fran Dauba, learned of the fire when she was stopped by authorities at the Circle K on Gulf Beach Highway and Fairfield Drive.

Dauba was upset when officials told her she couldn't go to her house to check on her three dogs. She was kept away from her pets for about 30 minutes before authorities shrunk their zone of quarantine closer to the fire.

"I got out to talk to a policeman and he made a phone call. Then he said, 'I'm sorry, they won't let y'all in there,'" said Dauba, who wasn’t sure how serious or how widespread the fire was at the time.

"I'm fine now, everyone's fine," Dauba said afterward. "But I was panicking there for a second."

Firefighters from Pensacola Naval Air Station and other nearby fire departments dug trenches around neighborhoods and used bulldozers to clear debris that could provide fuel for the fires as they drenched homes that were closest to the blaze with fire hoses. Thick smoke and embers from the approaching fire filled the small Weatherstone neighborhood of about 40 houses.

Tayborn Virgin was at work at Pensacola NAS when he got a call from his brother in Saudi Arabia, who was watching the Pensacola News Journal's coverage of the fire on Facebook Live.

Virgin said his brother, who is stationed overseas with the Navy, told him he needed to get home and check on his neighborhood because it appeared to be on fire.

"I got home as fast as I could," Virgin said.

Virgin’s home survived the blaze late Monday. He and other neighbors shared their relief that the neighborhood appeared to be safe as they gathered on the street outside his home.

"We are very thankful everyone is OK," he said.

Reporter Jake Newby contributed to this story.

Melissa Nelson Gabriel can be reached at mnelsongab@pnj.com or 850-426-1431.