Arsonists Sought in Fla. Wildfires; 100 Homes Burned
A police chief says investigators are searching for one or more arsonists who apparently started nine fast-moving wildfires around a city on Florida’s Atlantic coast, destroying or damaging about 100 homes.
Palm Bay, Fla., officials say they suspected arson after they received word of fires starting every 45 minutes Monday, beginning around 1:30 p.m. When they would put one fire out, another would appear to be set.
A witness saw someone in a car drop something into an open field Monday, and a fire started shortly afterward, an arson investigator said.
Orlando Dominguez, Brevard County Fire Department PIO, said during an press conference Tuesday that while the fires appear suspicious, the primary focus today is to contain the fire.
“It is quite suspicious because there have been no lightening strikes in the past few hours, but that does not mean fire was intentially set,” Dominguez said. “It could be dry conditions or a cigarette out a window. Right now our primary focus is containing the fire, and then our focus will be on what started the fire.”
“We do not like losing homes,” Dominguez went on to say. “We take that personally.”
Officials are offering a USD 10,000 reward for information about the fires, or how they were started, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The relentless wildfires burned into the morning Tuesday, taxing firefighters and overwhelming residents trying to save their homes with garden hoses.
Firefighters in the Brevard County were working for an third day trying to stop flames that have scorched about 3,800 acres, about 6 square miles, in the neighboring towns of Palm Bay and Malabar. Four homes have been destroyed and about 70 damaged.
“Every time I turn around another house is on fire. We do not have enough resources on our own to do an 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.
All 18 schools in Palm Bay, including charter schools, will be closed Tuesday. Smoke and the proximity of the flames have caused the intermittent closure of major highways in the area, including a 34-mile section of Interstate 95 south of the fires that was closed again midmorning Tuesday.
“Flames are coming onto the interstate,” Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller said.
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.”
Gov. 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 to 10 to 15 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
About 80 miles north in Daytona Beach, an 800-acre 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 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.
- Pentagon: Wayward Spy Satellite Successfully Destroyed
- Bottle Ring Unfastener Winner Tale Or How To Get USD 500 A Twenty With A Silly Thought
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment