Florida governor declares state of emergency amid fires

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dry, windy weather fueled several wildfires on Florida’s central Atlantic coast Monday, destroying about 50 homes and driving hundreds of residents away as the governor declared a state of emergency.

Fires in Palm Bay in Brevard County claimed about 50 homes and 3,500 acres; students at two schools were released early as a precaution.

“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.

In nearby Malabar, a 3,000-acre blaze destroyed at least two homes, including the house Butch Vanfleet built in 1980 and tried in vain to protect with a garden hose.

Vanfleet, 59, said the fire had reached the doorstep of the house in Malabar when he and his family fled Sunday evening. All that stood Monday was the chimney and a stone wall.

Vanfleet said he will rebuild.

“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.”

The Florida Highway Patrol shut down a seven-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Brevard County about rush hour Monday. U.S. Highway 1 also was closed in that area, and it is not known when it will reopen, FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller said.

“The fires have picked up in Malabar so it’s just heavy, thick black smoke, and it’s right at driver level,” Miller said.

One person may be responsible for the blaze, said Ernie Dieble, an arson investigator with the Palm Bay Police Department. An eyewitness saw someone in a car drop something into an open field, and the fire started shortly afterward, he said.

To the north in Daytona Beach, about 800 acres had burned by Monday afternoon.