Warhorse
05-12-2008, 09:17 PM
Govenor Crist has declared Florida under state of emergency due to spreading wildfires in Brevard County. Over 3000 acres have been burned, parts of major interstate I-95 have been closed and schools and hospitals been evacuated.
Source CNN.COM, and my own eye witness. Been there over the weekend, and it is bad. The visibility is like zero because the air is black and so thick with smog and smoke. I have a few relatives and my dad that have athsma, and they have to where oxygen masks the air is so thick.
I went back to Palm Beach County, where I live, this afternoon, and right now, at 10:00 pm on this hot Monday night, the smell of the smoke from hundreds of miles of way is thick in the air.
(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.
1 of 4 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.
Authorities believe the fire burning near Malabar and Palm Bay in Brevard County may have been started by arsonists, said Jim Eads of the Florida Division of Forestry.
Martinez said a $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who may have set the fires. Watch smoke billow from fire ยป
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
The sad thing is, what is not mentioned, is that these fires started as controlled burns to get rid of dead trees and shrubbery that could become projectiles during the hurricane season, but they went totally out of control. There was a controlled burning that happened in Okeechobee County, which got out of control and now are threatening farms and homes, and then the big fire that is raging in Brevard County. Of course, I'm opening a whole new can of worms when starting this debate about political leaders playing mother nature's role, and they get bit in the ass for it. Wish people would stop playing God and let things happen naturally on their own.
Source CNN.COM, and my own eye witness. Been there over the weekend, and it is bad. The visibility is like zero because the air is black and so thick with smog and smoke. I have a few relatives and my dad that have athsma, and they have to where oxygen masks the air is so thick.
I went back to Palm Beach County, where I live, this afternoon, and right now, at 10:00 pm on this hot Monday night, the smell of the smoke from hundreds of miles of way is thick in the air.
(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.
1 of 4 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.
Authorities believe the fire burning near Malabar and Palm Bay in Brevard County may have been started by arsonists, said Jim Eads of the Florida Division of Forestry.
Martinez said a $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who may have set the fires. Watch smoke billow from fire ยป
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
The sad thing is, what is not mentioned, is that these fires started as controlled burns to get rid of dead trees and shrubbery that could become projectiles during the hurricane season, but they went totally out of control. There was a controlled burning that happened in Okeechobee County, which got out of control and now are threatening farms and homes, and then the big fire that is raging in Brevard County. Of course, I'm opening a whole new can of worms when starting this debate about political leaders playing mother nature's role, and they get bit in the ass for it. Wish people would stop playing God and let things happen naturally on their own.