JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Aurora and Frank Weiss now look at their yard thankful it’s still here.
“That fire, in about 20 minutes, got all the way to right there,” Aurora said pointing to her tree.
The two have lived in their house off St. Johns Bluff Road for 46 years. But on Tuesday, as flames inched closer and closer, they feared for the worst.
"It was very bad, very, very bad,” she said.
Fire crews now say that brush fire is contained. But we’ve learned the danger is far from over.
Everyone from the Jacksonville fire chief to the Florida Forest Service is warning of the high fire danger in the area.
"The message for everybody over the next four to five days is that the fire behavior is going to be real tough on us,” said Fire Chief Martin Senterfitt.
"Fire danger is high. Our readiness level has been elevated because we are concerned about potential new starts,” said Annaleasa Winter, a wildfire mitigation specialist for the Florida Forest Service.
"We do anticipate to be busy over the next couple of days,” said Winter.
It’s leaving the Weiss family hoping for rain and praying this close call was as close as it gets.
"He took care of us this time. We'll see what happens next time. That’s the only thing you can say,” Frank Weiss said.
Forestry officials are advising everyone in the area to avoid doing any outdoor burns during this dry period.
According to the Florida Forest Service, 80 percent of all wildfires are caused by humans. Here in Jacksonville, they say, most are caused by debris burns that get out of control.
