April 20 wildfire updates
Staff report
This article will be updated as new information arrives.
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Three large wildfires are still active and are expected to remain active until we get “sustained, saturating” rainfall, according to Florida Forest Service. Alachua County has declared a local state of emergency, which removes some restrictions on purchasing equipment and allows for increased staffing, as well as preparing the Emergency Operations Center to open quickly, if needed.
The City of Gainesville announced at a press conference this afternoon that no lives or property have been lost to the fires, but smoke is expected to persist in the area, and everyone is asked to call 911 if they see flames (but not just smoke) with no fire trucks nearby, as well as refraining from any activities that may spark new fires and cooperating with first responders.
Residents can text “ALACHUA” to 888777 for emergency alerts, and the County has activated Alachua County Ready with information about the fires.
State Road 26 fire
The State Road 26 fire covers 306 acres and is 65% contained.
North Main Street fire
The North Main Street fire is 106 acres and is 25% contained.
North Main Street remains closed between NE 39th Avenue and NE 53rd Avenue.
State Road 121 fire
The State Road 121 fire covers 25 acres and is 60% contained.
SR 121 has reopened between U.S. Hwy 441 and County Road 231, but it may need to be closed again as the fire and weather conditions change.
At about 6:20 p.m., units responded to heavy smoke and fire activity near the 7700 block of NW 20th Drive, at the back of Eryn’s Garden. Within an hour, the fire was extinguished.
There’s a correlation between geoengineering and lack of rain. When you notice crisscross or parallel trails in the sky that slowly dissipate into a milky colored sky you’ll also notice the absolute lack of rain. Anyone over 20 years old knows this is not natural, as we grew up seeing blue skies and normal contrails. Condensation trails and aerosol trails look nothing alike.
We can all report these nefarious operations to the State of Florida (probably worthless, but why not?):
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8284335/Florida-Weather-Modification-Reports
Jones/Infowars claim
Jones and Infowars have alleged that governments and elites are using aircraft to spray chemicals on populations for purposes like: population control or reduction, weather modification/geoengineering as a weapon, mass sedation or behavior modification, and spreading disease.
Why the claims don’t hold up
• Atmospheric scientists, pilots, aircraft mechanics, and aviation regulators worldwide would all have to be in on the conspiracy — millions of people
• Samples of “chemtrail” residue have repeatedly been tested and found to be consistent with normal jet exhaust and atmospheric dust
• The physics of contrail formation is well understood and matches observations exactly
• There is no delivery mechanism in standard commercial jet engines for bulk chemical spraying
There is real, openly discussed research into atmospheric geoengineering (like stratospheric aerosol injection to reflect sunlight and combat climate change). This legitimate scientific debate likely fuels the conspiracy. The difference is that real geoengineering proposals are publicly debated, not secret.
The good old InfoWars conspiracy theorist label! Discussing this issues with people like you is no different than the Covid discussions from several years ago with the true believers. There is nothing I can say to sway your mind from the official narrative and that’s okay. Covid shots and geoengineering are both safe and effective, right?
https://geoengineeringwatch.org/
Florida COVID Deaths
Through July 2023, there were approximately 89,100 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Florida. The deadliest period was September 2021, with 687 deaths per day at its peak. 
Lives Saved by Vaccination
There’s no single Florida-specific estimate for the full pandemic, but here’s what research shows:
• Florida-specific (2021): A Commonwealth Fund analysis found that if Florida had matched the vaccination rates of the top-performing states, approximately 2,800 deaths could have been prevented in Florida alone just through July 2021. 
• U.S. nationally: A 2025 modeling study published in JAMA Health Forum estimated that COVID-19 vaccination saved approximately 2.5 million lives in the U.S., with 90% of those lives being people aged 60 and older. 
• Globally: A broader study found that in just the first year of vaccination programs, an estimated 14.4 million deaths worldwide were prevented. 
Florida is one of the most elderly states in the country, so it likely benefited disproportionately from vaccines given how heavily the benefit skewed toward older adults. A rough proportional estimate (Florida = ~6% of U.S. population) would suggest tens of thousands of Floridian lives saved, though no precise statewide figure for the full pandemic has been published.
I’m so thankful for our firefighters!