SEMINOLE, Ala. — Nine fire departments from Baldwin and Escambia County along with 11 firefighting personnel from the Alabama Forestry Commission have been fighting a wildfire in Seminole near the Florida line that has grown to 600 plus acres, and could reach 750 or more, over the past three days.

Still an active fire, Gary Cole, Regional Forester for Southwest Alabama, said they are having to employ aerial resources like helicopter and planes to fight it at this point and the pilot is constantly taking pictures to give an idea of the area affected.

“Yesterday, it was 400 acres and grew to 600 because of the wind, high temperatures and low humidity and right now it is in a remote area and not affecting houses or the interstate (I-10) but is burning up timber and vegetation. The governor’s office has given us plenty of aerial resources to us and we hope to get it under control by the end of the day,” Cole said.

Smoke has been seen in Pensacola, Cole said, and motorists are cautioned to be aware of visibility problems caused by smoke in the area.

According to a press release, the fire had already consumed 200 acres before personnel were able to get it somewhat under control and depending on the temperature and the winds today, Cole isn’t sure how much more will be affected.

“The firefighters can’t go out into the woods and fight this, it has to be done with bulldozers. All they can do is try to keep it from jumping over the roads and spreading to other areas. We thought we had it contained yesterday but it jumped over the road twice because the wind switched,” Cole said.

Residents who travel along Hwy. 90 in Baldwin and Escambia Counties are cautioned to slow down when they see the smoke over the road, especially on bridges and at night, said Stanley Anderson, an Alabama forestry official.

“We really aren’t sure of the cause of the fire but we can’t find any evidence of arson. We think it may be caused from lightning but haven’t gotten solid evidence of that yet. There has been a lot of high value timber (Pine) lost and about 90 percent of one landowner’s timber has been lost. Larson and McGowan, a forestry consulting firm out of Mobile, have a representative on the ground with us helping to fight it,” Anderson said.

No estimate of monetary damage done to the timber has been calculated yet, Anderson said.

One aircraft is being used right now but others may be used if the need arises, Anderson said. “This is a firefighting nightmare because of the weather conditions and the danger level for the firefighters. We had one fireman collapse from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation so it’s a very dangerous situation we are dealing with here.”

Five bulldozers are being used to create a fire line but with the winds shifting constantly, it keeps jumping the line and has to be contained, Anderson said. In addition to Baldwin and Escambia Counties, Anderson said units from Florence, Lauderdale, Pickens and Marion Counties in Northwest Alabama have been deployed to help.

The Forestry Commission website said Baldwin along with Escambia, Mobile, Washington, Monroe, Conechuh, and Clarke counties have been under a fire alert since May 19 due to increasing dry conditions, high temperatures and low humidity.

For information about fire alerts or wildfires, go to www.forestry.alabama.gov.