(Texas, Florida) Wildfires force evacuation, claim 2 lives

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Wildfires burning across more than 1.4 million acres in the United States have forced the evacuation of 1,800 homes and businesses in one Texas county and claimed the lives of two firefighters in Florida, authorities said Tuesday.

The two Florida Division of Forestry firefighters died Monday while fighting a wildfire in north-central Florida that had been declared contained but which suddenly burst out of control, Amanda Bevis, a division spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

"They were both in tractors, and the fire literally just caught up with them," she said.

The firefighters were identified as Josh Burch, 31, and Brett Fulton, 52. Both were Forest Rangers with the forestry division working the Blue Ribbon Fire in Hamilton County.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/21/us.wildfires/index.html

[Harmony Blue]

1. Rick Scott has hamstrung our state workers

and sadly I don't think our state has the means to deal with an eventual larger outbreak. :(

[Fuddnik]

2. I was driving down I-95 yesterday.

There was heavy smoke everywhere from south of Brunswick, Ga. to Jacksonville.

Rick Scott is probably figuring out how his wife can form a private firefighting company real quick, and hire them to fight the fires. After her other company drug tests them.

[ixion]

3. Exactly. This is the disaster capitalism model

spot on.

[1monster]

4. I'm not sure where the fires are in NE Florida, but I answered the door to my

insurance guy who came to collect the premium (what service! :) ) and the air was clear. Before I was able to get my check written, the air was full of choking smoke.

Downtown St. Augustine is so bad with smoke that people are walking around in dust masks...

It's gonna be a bad, bad summer. I hope it won't be as bad as 1998. Pray we get lots of rain soon.

[Dappleganger]

5. It's bad over here in the NW corner of St Johns as well...

I have been staying inside as much as possible and getting the teens to run errands due to my asthma. We definitely need the rainy season to begin!

[Hubert Flottz]

6. Sounds like those places need less gubmint intervention and

more tax cuts.