On the afternoon of Monday, May 4, 2020, the Five Mile Swamp fire broke out during a permitted, prescribed 240-acre burn in the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank located near Milton, Santa Rosa County, Fla. The recent reports are that the fire involves approximately 2,215 acres, has destroyed approximately 14 homes and 22 other ancillary buildings, and is now approximately 90 percent contained. Areas that may be affected by this fire are in Santa Rosa County north and south of I-10 between mile markers 22 and 31 in Zip Code 32583. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Florida Department of Agriculture, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement. Early reports suggest that the controlled burn got out of control or was exacerbated by winds, leading to the fire’s spread.

As with every wildfire, we have retained an expert to investigate the fire and we are working to gather information on any potential third parties who may have caused or contributed to the fire. We will provide a further update as we obtain more information on this fire.