Bush Declares State Of Emergency
POSTED: Monday, May 8, 2006
UPDATED: 12:37 am EDT May 9,
2006
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NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency Monday and deployed aviation units from the Florida National Guard to help fight wildfires as firefighters continued to battle blazes in Volusia and Brevard counties that have burned more than 8,000 acres.
IMAGES: Orange County | Volusia County | Brevard County
The governor met late Monday with some of the 155 firefighters working to contain a fire in New Smyrna Beach that has consumed about 1,300 acres and destroyed three homes.Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries, authorities said."We want to make sure that the residents of these communities are safe and that we isolate these fires as soon as possible," Bush said. "We are a tinder box right now. We had a little bit of rain but not enough to give people assurances that we are not going to have more fires."Officials are tracking about 50 active wildfires throughout the water-parched state, and Bush said lightning was probably not to blame in most cases."The likelihood is most of these fires have been created by either negligence or people doing harm," Bush said.The New Smyrna Beach fire was 70 percent contained, and most of the 1,000 people who were ordered to evacuate Sunday returned home Monday afternoon, said Timber Weller, a spokesman for the state Division of Forestry."The good news is it's raining. This area hasn't had an significant rain in two months, so everything was bone dry," Weller said.A 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95 from Port Orange to Edgewater was not expected to reopen until midmorning Tuesday, according to Florida Highway Patrol."There are still fires burning in the median, so we haven't be able to reopen it," FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller said.Officials advised motorists to find alternate routes around the fires as smoke has been settling on roadways, contributing to collisions that have killed four people.Portions of State Road 80 and U.S. 27 in western Palm Beach County for three hours Monday morning after smoke from brush fires burning in Broward County settled with fog over the roadways. The low visibility contributed to four crashes that killed two people and injured 19 passengers on a bus and one other driver, authorities told The Palm Beach Post.Authorities blamed a five-vehicle collision in Volusia County early Sunday that killed two people on low visibility caused by smoke blending with fog.A 20-mile section of I-95 in Brevard County will shut down early Tuesday morning as a precaution, Miller said.A brush fire in Hillsborough County forced FHP to shut down more than four miles of Interstate 75 south of Tampa on Monday. No homes were threatened, officials said, but the fire was burning close to the highway and heavy smoke hindered visibility.More than 2,200 wildfires have burned over 44,000 acres in Florida since Jan. 1, according to the state Division of Forestry."The state as a whole is just extremely dry right now," said Jim Brenner, fire management administrator for the state Division of Forestry. "These fires are consuming everything. And it's not over by any stretch of the imagination."
A helicopter tour pilot in the area spotted the flames and reported the flare up east of Interstate 4 at the Central Florida Parkway on Monday night.Authorities closed Exit 71 off Central Florida Parkway because of the fire, Local 6 News reported. The road was reopened Monday night at 11 p.m. Sky 6 helicopter pilot Dan McCarthy said flames from the fire jumped the Central Florida Parkway at one point.
IMAGES: New Orange County Fire
MAP: Fire Location
"Stay away from this area," McCarthy said as the fire burned. "I-4 is becoming a parking lot as you can imagine." The Central Florida Parkway westbound on I-4 is shut down. I-4 eastbound on the Central Parkway is shut down and Westwood Boulevard is shut down."Firefighters said the blaze was fully contained but Westwood Boulevard remained closed to traffic late Monday.No structures were damaged.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
IMAGES: Orange County | Volusia County | Brevard CountyThe governor met late Monday with some of the 155 firefighters working to contain a fire in New Smyrna Beach that has consumed about 1,300 acres and destroyed three homes.Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries, authorities said."We want to make sure that the residents of these communities are safe and that we isolate these fires as soon as possible," Bush said. "We are a tinder box right now. We had a little bit of rain but not enough to give people assurances that we are not going to have more fires."Officials are tracking about 50 active wildfires throughout the water-parched state, and Bush said lightning was probably not to blame in most cases."The likelihood is most of these fires have been created by either negligence or people doing harm," Bush said.The New Smyrna Beach fire was 70 percent contained, and most of the 1,000 people who were ordered to evacuate Sunday returned home Monday afternoon, said Timber Weller, a spokesman for the state Division of Forestry."The good news is it's raining. This area hasn't had an significant rain in two months, so everything was bone dry," Weller said.A 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95 from Port Orange to Edgewater was not expected to reopen until midmorning Tuesday, according to Florida Highway Patrol."There are still fires burning in the median, so we haven't be able to reopen it," FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller said.Officials advised motorists to find alternate routes around the fires as smoke has been settling on roadways, contributing to collisions that have killed four people.Portions of State Road 80 and U.S. 27 in western Palm Beach County for three hours Monday morning after smoke from brush fires burning in Broward County settled with fog over the roadways. The low visibility contributed to four crashes that killed two people and injured 19 passengers on a bus and one other driver, authorities told The Palm Beach Post.Authorities blamed a five-vehicle collision in Volusia County early Sunday that killed two people on low visibility caused by smoke blending with fog.A 20-mile section of I-95 in Brevard County will shut down early Tuesday morning as a precaution, Miller said.A brush fire in Hillsborough County forced FHP to shut down more than four miles of Interstate 75 south of Tampa on Monday. No homes were threatened, officials said, but the fire was burning close to the highway and heavy smoke hindered visibility.More than 2,200 wildfires have burned over 44,000 acres in Florida since Jan. 1, according to the state Division of Forestry."The state as a whole is just extremely dry right now," said Jim Brenner, fire management administrator for the state Division of Forestry. "These fires are consuming everything. And it's not over by any stretch of the imagination."
Fire Near SeaWorld
A fast-moving brush fire ignited in Orange County, Fla., near SeaWorld Orlando, Monday night and forced authorities to close several roads in the area, according to Local 6 News.
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IMAGES: New Orange County Fire MAP: Fire Location "Stay away from this area," McCarthy said as the fire burned. "I-4 is becoming a parking lot as you can imagine." The Central Florida Parkway westbound on I-4 is shut down. I-4 eastbound on the Central Parkway is shut down and Westwood Boulevard is shut down."Firefighters said the blaze was fully contained but Westwood Boulevard remained closed to traffic late Monday.No structures were damaged.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Previous Stories:
- May 8, 2006: Evacuees Near Brush Fire Allowed Back To Homes
- May 8, 2006: I-95 Remains Closed In Volusia
- May 8, 2006: Hurricane Debris Hinders Brush Fire Fight
- May 8, 2006: Official: 'We Don't Know What To Expect' With Fire
- May 8, 2006: Fire Grows To 1,200 Acres In Volusia
- May 8, 2006: 1,000 Evacuated, 3 Homes Destroyed By Fires
- May 8, 2006: Official: 1,000-Acre Fire Not Fully Under Control
- May 7, 2006: 2 Dead In Pileup On I-95 After Smoke Closes Road
- May 7, 2006: New Brush Fires Ignite In Central Fla.
- May 6, 2006: Fires Force Evacuations, Close Roads In Brevard, Volusia
- May 5, 2006: 800-Acre Fire In Volusia Forces Evacuation Of Homes
- May 5, 2006: Airline Smoke Scare Blamed On Brush Fires
- May 4, 2006: Beachline Reopens After Controlled Burns
- May 4, 2006: Official: Fire Flare-Ups May Continue For Weeks
- May 4, 2006: Cocoa Beach Duplex Fire Considered Suspicious
- May 4, 2006: Brush Fire Keeps Expressway Closed In Central Fla.
- May 3, 2006: Brush Fire Threatens Homes, I-95 Reopens
- May 3, 2006: Smoke, Fog Closes I-95, Beachline For 6 Hours
Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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