Emergency declared as Raging Wildfires sweep Florida
Pastor Dale Morgan
Emergency declared as Raging Wildfires sweep Florida*
* Story Highlights
* Drought conditions threaten homes, businesses
* Children evacuated from two schools; Interstate 95 is closed again
* Fire in Brevard County has burned about 3,000 acres
* Volusia County fire forces evacuation of 590 homes
(CNN) -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency Monday
as wildfires fed by drought conditions threatened homes and businesses
and forced the closing of part of Interstate 95 in Brevard County.
Firefighters work to put out flames at a house in Malabar, Florida,
early Monday.
Seven to 10 structures, including some homes, have been destroyed by the
largest of the fires, said Yvonne Martinez of the Palm Bay Fire Department.
"The fire situation has been very unpredictable," she said. "The winds
have basically caused what fires we had yesterday to jump a half a mile
at a time."
Martinez said three firefighters were injured -- including one who was
airlifted from the scene -- but she did not know the nature of their
injuries.
Many residents have been asked to evacuate "because the situation is so
unstable," said Martinez, adding that "hundreds" were affected.
Children from two schools in Palm Bay were sent home early because of
the threat of smoke and fire. Martinez said those schools likely would
be closed Tuesday.
Gov. Crist activated the National Guard to help battle the blazes and
help with evacuations.
Two other fires in Brevard County burned about 200 acres in Cocoa, but
were almost completely contained, authorities said.
A separate blaze in Volusia County led to the evacuation of about 590
homes near LPGA Boulevard, and people in another 85 homes are on standby
to evacuate, according to Fred Godawa of the Daytona Beach Fire Department.
That fire has burned through 600 to 1,000 acres and is about 20 percent
contained, Godawa said
Dense smoke forced the closure of several roads, including I-95 for a
seven-mile stretch in Brevard County near Malabar. The interstate was
also closed for a short time Monday morning near Cocoa.
"I got knots in my stomach," Cocoa resident Pam Hales told WKMG on
Sunday. "My daughter cooked Mother's Day dinner and we have not been
able to eat it. We tried to eat but nobody could eat."
"You wonder if everything you've worked all of your life and built and
if you are still going to have it," resident Tim Hales told the station.
A man who lived close to a house that was destroyed in Malabar told CNN
affiliate WESH the homeowners were out of town.
"It's pretty devastating, especially when it's a friend of yours, when
it's a neighbor caught in something like this," he told the station.
On Monday morning, officials called in 100 additional firefighters to
battle the blazes in Brevard County, said Pamela Keil with the Florida
Division of Emergency Management.
High winds in the area threatened to aid the fires, said Timber Weller
of the Division of Forestry.
"Weather conditions are making the situation ripe for an extreme fire,"
he said.