Mass evacuations as fire rages in Florida

Firefighters in the Florida Panhandle continued to battle an erratic fire that has scorched thousands of hectares of woods, razed dozens of homes and forced some 1600 people to evacuate from their neighbourhoods.

In Santa Rosa County, which is just east of Pensacola, an 810-hectare fire resulted in 1100 homes being evacuated on Wednesday.

That fire began on Monday when a prescribed burn by a private contractor got out of control. The conditions created a perfect storm for fire - low humidity and high winds.

Firefighters were expecting winds to shift and pick up on Friday, adding to the fire's erratic behaviour.

Officials confirmed 13 homes were destroyed so far in the fire dubbed the Five Mile Swamp Fire.

In a place accustomed to hurricanes, officials said many residents were ready to flee when given the word - although scores of people stayed behind, water hoses in hand, to stand against the fire.

Crews from other areas of Florida, including Jacksonville, are assisting firefighters who have been working long hours since Monday.

Almost all of Florida has had less-than-usual rainfall this year.

There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.