PALM BAY, Fla. -- More than 160 Central Florida homes have been damaged or destroyed in brush fires that swept through Brevard County, causing nearly $10 million in damages, according to a Palm Bay city manager.

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"We've lost a considerable number homes," Palm Bay city manager Lee Feldman said. "We estimate about 162 homes at this point and about $4.2 million in damages overall."

Sixty-two of the homes are uninhabitable and estimated damages were later updated to $9.6 million.

Local 6 showed video of homes burned to the ground in several neighborhoods.

"Fire crews are continuing to put out hot spots and mopping up areas where they can," Feldman said.

New Cocoa Fire Forces Evacuations

Two hotels and two trailer parks were evacuated in Cocoa on Tuesday when a brush fire broke out east of Interstate 95 and north of state Road 524, Brevard County fire officials said.

The Ramada Inn and Super 8 were evacuated along with the trailer parks, and the fire was approaching the Lost Lake subdivision, Cocoa police said.

Smoke from the fire forced authorities to close I-95 from state Road 528 to state Road 520. I-95 is also closed from mile marker 147 to mile marker 181 because of smoke from another brush fire.

The size of the blaze was estimated to be 15 acres.

A second shelter was opened in Brevard County at the Central Baptist Church, 2503 Country Club Road, in Melbourne. The shelter at Our Lady of the Lords in Palm Bay remains open.

The Red Cross opened a shelter at the Cocoa West Community Center, 230 S. Burnett Road, in Cocoa, for residents being evacuated from the Westgate Mobile Home Park and Cypress Trace Mobile Home Park, both on Friday Road.

The shelter will be available for general population, as well as those with special needs, if necessary. For information, call 211.

Inspector Stunned By Damage

Meanwhile, a veteran fire inspector said he was stunned after seeing some of the damage in Palm Bay.

"I never expected this, when we got out here, to see these total burnouts," Palm Bay fire inspector Mike Havener said. "I didn't really expect this at all. It is just amazing."

Havener is part of five, two-man teams checking damage Tuesday after brush fires burned through the area.

Like a tornado, flames burned some homes to the ground but did not damage other homes on the same street in Palm Bay neighborhoods.

Havener found burned-out recreational vehicles and other unreported burned structures while assessing the damage.

108 Fires Burning In Florida

Also Tuesday, more than 100 fires were reported to be burning in the state.

"There are 108 fires. (That's) what we are looking at in the state of Florida and some of them are very big," Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson said Tuesday. "Nine of them are very big fires with a lot of potential for damage."

Bronson toured some of the Central Florida fire damage with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and said he noticed several fires.

"Things are heating up again," Bronson said.

He said firefighters are stretched thin across the state.

"We have a lot of fires burning in the state but in emergency management we say all disasters are local but we never say you are by yourself," Craig Fugate of the state Emergency Operations Center said.

Fugate said other states have not been called for help because firefighters have been fortunate not to have fires throughout the whole state.

Florida National Guard Gen. Burnett said guardsmen are ready to assist firefighters.

"The Florida National Guard is ready just like we were in the hurricane season of 2004 and 2005 and the tornado response we did last year with Gov. Crist," Burnett said. "We have more Florida Guardsman home from Iraq and Afghanistan than we've had in the last seven years and that's good news."

Crist toured several Central Florida areas hit by wildfire in Malabar and complimented first-responders.

"Whenever we have a hurricane, whenever we have a fire and whenever we have a tornado, it is these heroes who come out first," Crist said.

More than 200 firefighters were battling blazes in different parts of Central Florida Tuesday.

Arsonist Set 9 Fires In Palm Bay

Meanwhile, police believe a large portion of the fires in Palm Bay are linked to arson.

A $10,000 reward was offered for information on suspicious activity concerning the fires.

Anyone with information concerning the fires is urged to call the Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.

Daytona Fire 55 Percent Contained

According to the Division of Forestry, an 800-acre brush fire in Daytona Beach was 55 percent contained.

There have been flare-ups on both sides of LPGA Boulevard, inside the LPGA International subdivision and behind the Bayberry Lakes subdivision, officials said.

Fire crews were able to cut additional fire lines around the fire before the weather conditions deteriorated.

The evacuation of the LPGA International subdivision was lifted on Tuesday and residents were allowed back in their homes.

The City of Daytona Beach set up a hot line for information about the brush fires. The number is 386-671-5347.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.