Florida Home Burns Down After Flooding Blocks Firefighters

A home in Hernando Beach, Florida, burned down after firefighters were unable to pass through flooded roadways to extinguish it.

"The home was unoccupied at the time the fire occurred," a spokesperson for Hernando County Fire Rescue told Newsweek on Thursday. "I do not have any further information on whether the homeowner evacuated or otherwise."

Hurricane Idalia hit Florida on Wednesday morning as a strong Category 3 storm, bringing with it torrential rain and strong winds. While the storm made landfall north of Gainesville, the impact of Idalia was felt throughout the state, with areas of Florida reporting storm surge of 12 feet and flooding in Hernando County being so severe that emergency vehicles were blocked from accessing roads.

The city, as others along the Florida coastline known as the Big Bend, took quite a hit from Hurricane Idalia. The county warned residents about a lack of residential access to vehicles west of U.S. Interstate 19.

The Hernando County Sheriff's Office told WTVT in Tampa that crews reached the home in question before 10 a.m. but limited access led to the residence essentially deemed a total loss.

A neighbor of that residence told the station that he owns an airboat and "didn't want any of our neighbors' homes to burn up because we had the means to get here."

"We just came and used water hoses to keep the embers from burning other homes," the resident said.

Hernando Sheriff Al Neinhuis said in a message posted to Facebook at about 4 p.m. today that local business owners and homes that lie south of Hermosa Beach will soon regain access to their buildings and properties.

"The minute we can open up more streets as long they're safe, we're gonna do it," Neinhuis said, later adding that a dozen trucks have roamed the area to attempt to slowly bring back electricity to the area.

Hernando County also posted an update online, saying that all schools and district offices would reopen August 31. Due to the fact that not all roads are passable due to flooding, students unable to attend classes will be provided excuses for absences.

Newsweek reached out to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office for comment.

The Category 3 hurricane upon landfall Wednesday morning has regressed in terms of wind and intensity, though the effects are widespread and also felt by citizens in Georgia and the Carolinas as the storm heads northeast.

As of 4:50 p.m. ET, there were 262,075 customers without power in Florida and 208,450 without power in Georgia. Another 13,000 people in South Carolina were also in the dark, according to PowerOutage.us.

Update 8/31/23, 11:16 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Hernando County Fire Rescue.