Brush Fire Closes Hwy. 29 For Hours. Here’s How It Started. (With Gallery)

February 7, 2026

Nearly two miles of busy Highway 29 in Cantonment was closed for hours on Friday due to a large bush fire, and we now know how the fire started.

Highway 29 was closed in both directions from North Tate School Road to Kingsfield Road.

According to Escambia County Fire Rescue, the fire started as a small outside fire at a home in the 1800 block of Peach Terrace, just south of Tate School Road and parallel to Highway 29.

For a gallery showing the battle across the fire scene, click here.

The fire got out of control and spread rapidly.

Several Escambia County Fire Rescue stations responded with multiple units, including ladder trucks, to fight the fire. The Florida Forest Service also used at least two bulldozers to establish a firebreak around the blaze.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control and road closures.

NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.

Comments





Have a comment on this story?

We welcome your comments on this story, but there are some rules to follow::

(1) Be Nice. No comments that slander another, no racism, no sexism, no personal attacks.

(2) No Harrassing Comments. If someone says something bad about you, don't respond. That's childish.

(3) No Libel. That's saying something is not true about someone. Don't do it.

(4) Keep it clean. Nothing vulgar, obscene or sexually related. No profanity or obvious substitutions. Period.

(5) NorthEscambia.com reserves the right to remove any comments that violate our rules or we think to be inappropriate. We are not responsible for what is posted. Comments may not appear right away until they are approved by a moderator.

(6) Limit your comments to the subject in this story only, and limit comments to 300 words or less. Do not post copyrighted material. Comments will not be added to stories that are over 30 days old.

(7) No posts may advertise a commercial business, political candidate or political group, or link to another commercial web site or political site of any kind.