PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Crews are still fighting flames from the Railroad Wildfire near homes in Putnam County, where one family has had a stressful stretch of days.
A quiet plot of land on Guthrie Road has been home to the Guthrie family since the 1950’s.
But for the past few days, the clucks of chickens have been replaced with the roars of firefighting plane engines.
Dewey Guthrie, currently in his 70’s, has lived here his entire life, and he now shares the land with his extended family, who also have homes on the property.
But in those 70+ years, Guthrie said he’d never seen a fire quite like the one that’s crept up to the border of his family property the past three days.
“Just, God keep it from getting to my house and keep it from burning down,” said Guthrie. ”I didn’t want my house to burn down.”
The fire reached the property line Sunday and jumped over Guthrie Road Monday, coming within just a hundred yards or so from Guthrie’s own home.
“That is so dense over there. That was really scary for it to get in there like that,” said Guthrie.
Thankfully, by Monday night, fire crews had managed to carve fire trails through the woods and halt the progression of the flames.
After evacuating earlier in the day, Guthrie was able to return home that evening.
“And I’ve really got to commend those guys cause they worked hard and they kept it from getting in here to our houses,” said Guthrie.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Railroad Fire was 50 percent contained and spanned more than 4,100 acres.
Flare-ups continued to threaten the family’s property, but Guthrie said he’s feeling confident the worst is behind them.
“God prevailed,” said Guthrie.
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