1
Relentless wildfires burned Tuesday morning across Florida's Atlantic coast, taxing firefighters and overwhelming residents trying to save their homes with garden hoses.
Firefighters in Brevard County were working for a third day trying to stop flames that have destroyed four homes and damaged about 70. The state's largest blaze has charred about 1,540 hectares in the neighbouring towns of Palm Bay and Malabar.
“Every time I turn around another house is on fire. We don't have enough resources on our own to do a job like this,” said Palm Bay spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez.
Officials expressed concern early Tuesday after flare-ups overnight. Flare-ups when humidity is higher can be a bad sign because fire spreads even more quickly during the drier and windier daylight hours, said Palm Bay Assistant Fire Chief Jim Stables.
“It's going to be challenging to get the fire under control,” he said.
A 60-kilometre stretch of Interstate 95 in Brevard County and a portion of U.S. Highway 1 that had been closed due to smoke were reopened early Tuesday.
All 18 schools in Palm Bay, including charter schools, will be closed Tuesday.
One of the homes destroyed in Malabar belonged to Butch Vanfleet, who built the home in 1980 and tried in vain to protect it with a garden hose.
“It's devastation,” he said. “All you see is nothing but ash in between the palm trees and the palmetto. There's no grass. The fire just came so quickly, we barely got out of there.”
Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency Monday as dry, windy weather worsened conditions. His orders allow Florida to use federal funds and bring local emergency workers under state control. It also allows Florida to call on other states for help, if necessary.
Firefighters may get some help Tuesday, since winds on the coast were expected to slow, according to the National Weather Service.
Authorities said the fire may be the result of arson. A witness saw someone in a car drop something into an open field, and the fire started shortly afterward, an arson investigator said.
About 120 kilometres north in Daytona Beach, a 324-hectare fire forced an evacuation order for about 500 homes, but residents were allowed to return Monday evening. No structures were reported damaged, though officials warned embers could fly more than a mile from the blaze and spark new hot spots.
Ray Ademski, a 68-year-old retiree, left his Daytona Beach home with his wife and their important papers when he saw columns of smoke Sunday night around the subdivision. He hosed down the roof and turned on the sprinklers in his yard before the couple left for a hotel.
“I could feel the heat from both sides,” said Mr. Ademski, who returned by bicycle Monday to survey the damage. “The smoke was going straight into my eyes. It was terrible.”
Hundreds of firefighters worked the state's blazes, bulldozing highly flammable brush and vegetation and leaving behind less flammable dirt to keep the fires from advancing. At least three firefighters were injured Monday, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
