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Florida under State of Emergency

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.

Quote:

(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 »

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.

Governor Christ. Best...typo...ever!

EDIT: And I'm sorry Warhorse, I didn't read the entirety of your post to see that you were effected. Didn't mean any harm, just cracking wise.

Remember This, The Mutagen In The Florida Swamp, It's Flammable.

Edit out my dis-pleasure of some non witty remarks on this thread. Never put this thread up for mockery, I just know that techno members have affiliations with Florida, and are probably worried too about what is going on down here. Right now, there are three massive fires burning out of control. The big one in Brevard and two near Okeechobee Lake.

Then we'll probably be facing another freaking hurricane the way our luck is going. No breaks anywhere lately, not just in Florida, but world wide. Tornados in the mid west, Earthquakes in Ohio, China, Cyclones in Myanmar. It's un-unding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warhorse (Post 609197)

You know what jerk, people right now are losing their homes and my dad is having a hell of a time breathing, and all u see is a f***cking typo. Go jump off a cliff you waste of space!

I'm blown away. Take your frustration elsewhere, though.

Alright, calm down. There's no need for the hostility. I understand why you are upset, but Jester meant no harm.

and Ai owes me a coke.

I hope everything works out and things get better for you.

Just FYI, 3000 acres is 4.6875 square miles

Yeah it's pretty bad down here, good thing I'm nowhere near any of the fires.

I guess having a place behind a K-mart has it's perks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester (Post 609189)

Governor Christ. Best...typo...ever!

EDIT: And I'm sorry Warhorse, I didn't read the entirety of your post to see that you were effected. Didn't mean any harm, just cracking wise.

I'm sorry too, I was kind of in a state of shock and awe coming home from that mess. I was up there helping friends evacuate their horses to my barn down here in Palm Beach County. That was a long haul, 13 terrified horses, three convoys, and my friends very upset, afraid their homes will go up in flames. County is not letting anyone go back there now. Not until the fires subdue, which will be a while.

I didn't exactly proof read my material either. My goof on that part. Hope we can be friends!

That's terrible. Fires in florida and nasty flooding in the north east (my neck of the woods) every thing's out of control lately. Around where I live we got over 3 months worth of rain in less then 5 days. Too bad we can't send a bit to Florida maybe it would help put out the fires. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warhorse (Post 609197)

Yeah, I can understand that. There have been plenty of close calls here with the tornados. Seems like I can't remember the last time it hasn't rained or we've had some severe weather. I blame Al Gore...sorry, that's probably not funny either.

EDIT: No hard feelings, I was a douche for posting just one line about a freakin' typo.

Haven't been back up there yet, but local reports are stating something like 17,000 acres have been burned now, and the previous exagerated reports of some 500 homes destroyed have now dwindled down to 160 homes. I'm still unsure if my friend's farm has been affected or not. They were pretty startled and shaken when a local news chopper was showing a barn going up in flames and the reporters making comments on how they hope the horses were out. When we left, the fires were still several miles away, but you know all it takes is a shift in wind speed, along with all the dry weather Florida has been having, there's unlimited fuel for a fire out there.

It's kind of tough, packing in 13 extra horses on a 5 acre mini farm. I already have 5 horses on the property already. Some of the new horses aren't getting along with my horses, but we'll work it out. At least they are safe, and I have enough room in my house for my friends to stay for quite a while if things turn for the worst.

Reports are stating that while one fire may have escalated out of control due to a once controlled burn by state officials, investigators believe that there are actually 9 extra fires that were started by arsonists. If an arsonist was responsible for the majority of the fires in Palm Bay, I hope you're happy with yourself.

A little about Palm Bay. I mentioned in a thread about what would Splinter do with each Turtle if he had to spend some quality time with one, I had thought Cape Canaveral would be a good place to go for Donny. Well, I also mentioned how nearby was a small city that had a huge electronics complex. Well, that complex is in Palm Bay, known as The Harris Corporation. It really is it's own city. The company I work for has done contract work for Harris. Harris is a good company to try and get into for those who are electronically inclined!

Do not worry, minna-san. I live on the other side of the state and this has not affected me in any way.

That said, my mother is coming today to visit me via Greyhound. And it does make a stop in Orlando. And my brother lives north of Orlando. So it may affect them.

I have friends in the East Coast of the state. I hope they are fine.

My friends are driving back up there now to see how things are going. They left the horses with me.

I love the west coast of Florida. Been to Ft Meyers many times, have relatives there. And the gulf has got some lively beaches. Now surprisingly, I have never been to, but would love to go to St Petersberg and Tampa. Seems like such a fun place to go.