I-95 lanes re-open, after lengthy closure because of 600 acre wildfire

Jacksonville, FL — Some 20 hours after it had to be shut down because of a massive wildfire burning on the Northside, I-95 has reopened between I-295 and SR 200. All southbound lanes and two of the three northbound lanes are now open for traffic.

The Florida Highway Patrol says it is possible there could be closures again later, as conditions warrant.

The Yellow Bluff Fire has now burned around 600 acres, including coming right up near I-95. The fire is causing heavy smoke that can, at time, limit visibility on roads in the area.

The Florida Forest Service in Jacksonville says their efforts to contain this fire are limited by the marshy conditions in that area. Current containment is around 30%, but they continue to work on the ground to put in fire lines, and in the air by dropping water. The aim is to box the fire in, between I-95 and US 17, with dozers drawing a line on the south edge and specialized equipment putting in a line in the marsh on the north end.

This all comes ahead of a very busy travel weekend. The Jacksonville International Airport is telling passengers to leave extra time both for their commute, and for getting through security.

If closures happen again, the First Alert Traffic Team says US 17, Lem Turner or New Kings to State Road 200 in Callahan, or Heckscher to A1A then up to SR 200 are your alternates, but because so much traffic has been funneled on to those roads, you should expect heavy delays there are well.

Because of the backups, there were several reports of cars running out of gas in the delays. Our partner Action News Jax also found at least one gas station in Yulee that ran out of regular gas, because of the high demand.

This is a developing story that will be updated through the afternoon.